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23  WIST  MAUN  STREiT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14SS0 

(716)872-4503 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/iyotas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquaa 


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Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagte 

Covers  restored  and/or  l<iminated/ 
Couverture  restaurta  et/ou  pelliculte 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

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Tight  binding  may  causa  shadowa  or  diatortion 
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Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  bacic  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
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first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


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shall  contain  the  symbol  — »>  (meaning  "CON- 
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Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
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BibliothAque  nationale  du  Canada 


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1.1 


AWFUL  DISCLOSURES, 


BY 


MARIA    MONK, 

OF  THB 

HOTEL  DIEU  NUNNERY  OF  MONTREAL, 

REVISED,  WITH  AN 

APPENDIX, 

COKTAININO, 

PART  I.      BECEPTION    OP   THE    FIBST   EDITIONS. 
PART  II.     SEQUEL  OF  HER  NARRATIVBr 
PART  III.  REVIE>7  OF  THE  CASE. 

AliSO,    A    SUPPIiEMEXT, 

8CVIV0  MORE  FARTICULARS  OF  THE  NUNNERY  AND  GROUNDC 


aLU»TRATED  BY  A  PLAN  OF  THE  NUNNERY,  *a. 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY   MARIA     |^ONK, 

AND  80LD  BY  BOOKSELLERS  GENERALLY. 

1836. 


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Entbrbd, 
Axseording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  your  1839.  by    ' 
MARIA    MONK, 
In  the  Clerk's  OtRce  of  the  Districl  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 

MBW  TOBK. 


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ENTBBXDi 

Aocoiding  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839,  by    ' 
MARIA    MONK, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 

NBW  YORK. 


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ORBMTrPBD  BT  VBAMCIS  F.  RIFUnT 
MBWTOMC. 


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11 


PREFACE. 


•i  \ 


This  volume  embraces  the  contents  of  the  first  editions 
t)f  my  "  Awful  Disclosures,"  together  with  the  Sequel  of 
my  Narrative,  giving  an  account  of  events  after  my  escape 
from  the  Nunnery,  and  of  my  return  to  Montreal  to  pro- 
cure a  legal  investigation  of  my  charges.  It  also  furnishes 
all  the  testimony  that  has  been  published  against  me,  of 
•every  description,  as  well  as  that  which  has  been  given  in 
confirmation  of  my  story.  At  the  close,  will  be  found  a 
Review  of  the  whole  Subject,  furnished  by  a  gentleman 
^ell  qualified  for  the  purpose ;  and,  finally,  a  short  Supple- 
ment, giving  further  particulars  interesting  to  the  pub- 
•lie. 

I  present  this  volume  to  the  reader,  with  feelings  which, 
I  trust,  will  be  in  some  degree  appreciated  when  it  has  been 
read  and  reflected  upon.  A  hasty  perUoal,  and  an  imper- 
fect apprehension  of  its  contents,  can  never  produce  sucli 
impressions  as  it  has  been  my  design  to  make  by  the  state- 
ments I  have  laid  before  the  world.  I  know  that  misap- 
prehensions exist  in  the  minds  of  sqpe  virtuous  people.  I 
^m  not  disposed  to  condemn  their  motives,  for  it  does  not 
€eem  wonderful,  that  in  a  pure  state  of  society,  and  in  the 
midst  of  Christian  families,  there  should  be  persons  who 
regard  t|^e  crimes  i  have  mentioned  as  too  monstrous  to  be 
l>eliey-ed.    It  certainly  is  creditable  to  American  manners 


.' « 


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PREFACE. 


and  character,  that  the  people  are  inclined,  at  th?  li^^t 
sight,  to  tarn  from  my  story  with  horror. 

There  is  also  an  excuse  for  those,  who,  having  received 
only  a  general  impression  concerning  the  nature  of  my 
Disclosures,  question  the  propriety  of  publishing  buch  im- 
morality to  the  world.  They  fear  that  the  miuds  of  the 
young  at  least  may  be  polluted.  To  such  I  have  to  say, 
that  this  objection  was  examined,  and  set  aside,  long  before 
they  had  an  opportunity  to  make  it.  I  solemnly  believe  it 
is  necessary  to  inform  parents  at  least,  that  the  ruin  from 
which  I  have  barely  escaped,  lies  in  the  way  of  their  child- 
ren, even  if  delicacy  must  be  in  some  degree  wounded  by 
revealing  the  fact.  I  understand  the  case,  alas !  from  too 
bitter  experience.  Many  an  innocent  girl  may  this  year 
be  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  which  I  was  ignorant.  I  am 
resolved,  that  so  far  as  depends  on  me,  not  one  more  victim 
shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  those  enemies  in  whose  power  I 
so  lately  have  been.  I  know  what  it  is  to  be  under  the  do- 
minion of  Nuns  and  Priests ;  and  I  maintain,  that  it  is  a 
far  greater  offence  against  virtue  and  decency  to  concea", 
than  to  proclaim  their  crimes.  Ah  I  had  a  single  warning 
voice  even  whispered  to  me  a  word  of  caution,  had  even  a 
gentle  note  of  alarm  been  sounded  to  me,  it  might  have 
turned  back  my  foot  from  the  Convent  when  it  was  upon 
the  threshold !  If,  therefore,  there  is  any  one  now  bending 
a  step  that  way,  whom  I  have  not  yet  alarmed,  I  will  cry 
heware  t 

But  the  virtuous  reader  need  not  fear,  in  the  following 
pages,  to  meet  with  vice  presented  in  any  dress  but  her  own 
deformity.  No  one  can  accuse  me  of  giving  a  single  at- 
traction to  crime.  On  the  contrary,  I  intend  my  book 
shall  be  a  warning  to  those  who  may  hereafter  be  tempted 
by  vice ;  and  with  the  confidence  that  such  it  will  prove  to 
be,  I  commend  it  to  the  carefbl  examination  of  virtuous 
parents,  and  am  willing  to  abide  by  their  unbiased  opin* 
iMi,  with  regard  both  to  my  truth,  my  motives,  and  the  in* 


) 

\ 


rest  which  the  public  have  m  the  developments  it  con- 
tains. 

(  wcn!il  now  appeal  to  the  world,  and  i.sk,  whether  I 
have  not  done  all  that  could  have  been  expected  of  me, 
and  all  that  lay  in  my  power,  to  bring  to  an  investigation 
the  charges  i  have  brought  against  the  priests  and  nuns  of 
Canada.  Although  it  was  necessary  to  the  cause  of  truth, 
that  I  should,  in  some  degree,  implicate  myself,  I  have  not 
hesitated  to  appear  as  a  voluntary  self-accuser  before  the 
world.  While  there  was  a  hope  that  the  authorities  in 
Canada  might  be  prevailed  upon  to  bring  the  subject  to  a 
legal  investigation,  I  trairclled  to  Montreal,  in  a  feeble  state 
cf  health,  and  with  an  infant  in  my  arms  only  three  weeks 
old.  In  the  face  of  many  threats  and  dangers,  I  spent 
nearly  a  month  in  that  city,  in  vain  attempts  to  bring  my 
cause  to  a  trial.  When  all  prospect  of  success  in  this  un- 
dertaking had  disappeared,  and  not  till  then,  I  determined 
to  make  my  accusations  through  the  press ;  and,  although 
misrepresenlaiions  and  scandals,  flattery  and  fear,  have 
been  resorted  to,  to  nullify  or  to  suppress  my  testimony,  I 
have  persevered,  although,  as  many  of  my  friends  have 
thought,  at  the  risk  of  abduction  or  death. 

I  have,  I  think,  afforded  every  opportunity  that  could  \>e 
reasonably  expected,  to  judge  of  my  credibility.  I  ha/e 
appealed  to  he  exist pnce  of  things  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nun- 
nery, as  the  great  criterion  of  the  truth  of  my  story.  I  ha  \re 
described  the  apartments,  and  now,  in  this  volume,  have 
added  many  further  particulars,  with  such  a  draft  of  tuem 
as  my  memory  has  enabled  me  to  make.  I  have  offered,  in 
case  I  should  be  proved  an  impostor,  to  submit  to  any  pun- 
ishment which  may  be  proposed — even  to  a  redelivery  into 
the  hands  of  my  bitterest  enemies,  to  suffer  what  they  may 
please  to  inflict. 

Now,  in  these  circumstances,  I  would  ask  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  whether  my  duty  has  not  been  discharg- 
ed 1  Have  I  not  done  what  I  ought,  to  inform  and  to  alarm 
them  t    1  would  also  solemnly  appeal  to  the  Government 


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«f  attat  BrUain,  under  whose  guardianship  is  'he  pic 
S^«^reL^^the  gloomy  instimUon  from  which  I  have 
r.Z  wd Is?  wheLr  such  atrocities  ought  to  be  tder- 
Z^^rea  protected,  by  an  enlightened  and  Chr«^« 
Mwer  1  I  trust  the  hour  is  near,  when  the  dew  of  the  Ho- 
JdDieu  will  be  laid  open,  when  the  tyrants  who  haw  pd- 
inte^  U  wm  be  brought  out,  with  the  wretched  victun.  « 
their  oppression  and  crimes. 


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CONTENTS. 

\  

CBAPTBR  L    Earlt  Rbcollkotions II 

E<url7  life— Relieious  Education  neglected— First  Schools— En> 
trance  into  the  Scnool  of  the  Congregational  Nunnery— Brief  Ac* 
count  of  the  Nunneries  in  Montreu— The  Congregational  Ntui* 
nery— The  Blaclc  Nunnery— The  Grev  Nunnery— Public  Respect 
for  these  Institutions— Instruction  Received— The  Catechism— 
The  fiible. 

CHAPTER  n.    CoNORBQATiONAL  Nunnery 19 

Story  told  by  a  fellow  Pupil  against  a  Priest— Other  Stories- 
Pretty  Mary— Confess  to  Father  Richards— My  subsequent  Con* 
fessions— Left  the  Congregational  Nunnery. 

CHAPTER  m.    BlackNdmnbrt 28 

Preparations  to  become  a  Novice  in  the  Black  Nunnery— Ehi> 
trance— Occupatiuns  of  the  Novices— The  Apartments  to  which 
they  had  Access— First  interview  vrith  Jane  Ray— Reverence  for 
the  Superior— Her  Reliques— The  Holy  Good  Shepherd,  or  name* 
less  Nun— Confession  or  Novices. 

CHAPTER  IV. 84 

Displeased  with  the  Convent— Left  it— Residence  at  St.  Denis— 
Reliquee^Marriage— Return  to  the  Black  Nunnery— Objectione 
made  bj  eome  Novices— Ideas  of  the  Bible. 

CHAPTER  V 41 

Received  Confirmation— Painfiil  Feelings— Specimen  of  Instmc- 
tiona  received  on  the  Subject. 

CHAPTER  VI. 44 

Taking  the  Veil— Interview  afterward  with  the  Superior— Sor- 
prise  and  horror  at  her  Disclosuroa— Resolation  to  submit. 

CHAPTER  VH M 

Daily  Ceremonies— Jane  Ray  among  the  Nime. 

CBAJTER  vm at 

Description  of  Apartments  in  the  Black  Nunnery,  In  order— 1st 
floor->ad  Floor— The  Founder--8uperior's  Management  with  the 
Friends  of  Novices— ReUgloiw  Liea-Crimlnll^  of  eoneealUiff 
fllBf  at  Confession. 


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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX , 


Nuns  with  similar  names— Squaw  Nuna— First  visit  to  the  Cel* 
lar— Description  of  it— Shocking  Discovery  there— Superior's  In- 
structions—Private Signal  of  the  Priests— Boolis  used  in  the  Nun- 
nery—Opinions expressed  of  the  Bible— Specimen*  of  what  I  know 
of  the  Scriptures. 

CHAPTER  X 87 

Manufacture  of  Bread)  and  Wax  Candles,  carried  on  in  the  Con- 
vent—Superstitions— Scapularies— Virgin  Mary's  pincu^shion — Iler 
House— Tlie  Bishop's  power  over  fire— My  instructions  to  Novices 
—Jane  Ray— Vacillation  of  feelings. 

CHAPTER  XI .........*..... 97 

Alarming  Order  from  the  Superior — Proceed  to  execute  it — 
Scene  in  an  upper  Room— Sentence  of  Death,  and  Murder— My 
own  distress— Reports  made  to  friends  of  St.  Francis. 

CHAPTER  XII... 105 

Description  of  the  Room  of  the  Three  States,  and  the  Pictures 
In  it— Jane  Ray  ridiculing  Priests— Their  criminal  Treatment  of 
us  at  Confession— .Tane  Ray's  Tricks  with  the  Nun's  Aprons, 
Handkerchiefs,  and  Nightgowns— Apples. 

CHAPTER  Xni 118 

Jane  Ray's  Tricks  continued— The  Broomstick  Ghost— Sleep* 
walking— Salted  Cider— Changing  Beds— Objects  of  some  of  her 
Tricks— Feigned  Humility— Alarm— Treatment  of  a  new  Nun*  -A 
Nun  made  by  stratagem. 

CTIAPTERXV 136 

Influencing  Novices— Difficulty  of  convincing  Persona  from  the 
United  States— Tale  of  the  Bishop  in  the  City— The  Bishop  in  the 
Convent— Tlie  Prisoners  in  the  Cells— Practice  in  Singing— Nar« 
ratives— Jane  Ray's  Hymns— The  Superior's  best  Trick. 

CHAPTER  XVI 148 

Frequency  of  the  Priests'  Visits  to  the  Nunnery— Their  Free- 
dom and  Crimes— Difficulty  of  learning  their  Names— iTheir  Holy 
Retreat— Objections  in  our  minds— Means  used  to  counteract 
Conscience- Ingenious  Arguments. 

CHAPTER  XVn 15ft 

Treatment  of  young  Infants  in  the  Convent— Talking '--  SleeiK- 

Amusements—Ceremonies  at  the  public  interment  of  deceaWMl 

Nuns— Sudden  disappearance  of  the  Old  Superior— Introduction 

*-  of  the  newone— Superstition— Alarm  of  a  Nun— Difficulty  of  Gqiii* 

mimication  with  other  Nuns. 

CHAPTER  XVni , , 1(J4 

Disappearance  of  Nuns— St.  Pierre— Gj»gs— My  temporary  Con- 
finement in  a  CeU— The  Cholera  Season- How  to  avoid  it— Occu- 
nations  in  the  Convent  during  the  Pestilence— Manufacture  of 


C0NTBRT8.  f 

Wax  Candlcsh- The  Election  Riot*— Alarai  among  the  Nuaa— Pre> 
parations  for  Defence— Penancee. 

CHAPTER  XIX 180 

The  Priests  of  the  District  of  Montreal  have  free  access  to  the 
Blaclc  Nunnery— Crimea  committed  and  required  by  theoa— The 
Pope's  Command  to  commit  indecent  Crimes — Characters  of  the 
O^d  and  New  Superiors— The  timidilj  of  the  latter— I  began  to  be 
employed  in  the  Hospitals— Some  account  of  them— Warning  gives 
me  by  a  sick  Nun— renans#  by  Hanging. 

CHAPTER  XX.... 189 

More  visits  to  the  imprisoned  Nuns— Their  fears— Others  tem* 
porarily  put  into  the  Cells— Reliques— The  Agnus  Dei— The 
Priests'  private  Hospital,  or  Holy  Retreat — Secret  Rooms  in  the 
Eastern  Wing— Reports  of  Murders  in  the  Convent— The  Superi- 
or's private  Records— Number  of  Nuns  in  the  Convent— Desire  of 
Escape— Urgent  reason  for  it— Plan— DeMberatioo— Attempt— Sue* 
«es9. 


^4 

(     I'M 


APPENDIX. 


L  RECEPTION  OF  THE  FIRSTT  EDlTIOllS. 

AaonvmoDs  handbill,  207— Montreal  Affidavits,  210— Letter  of  T.  B. 
McMahon,  226— Extracts  from  American  Papers,  231— Reply  to 
the  Montreal  Affidavits,  233— New  York  Certificates  and  Affidavita, 
236— Challenge  to  the  Roman  priests,  246. 


n.  SEQUEL  TO  THE  NARRATIVB. 


BXTAOB. 


965 


CHAPTER  I 857 

At  liberty— Doubtful  what  to  do— Found  refuge  for  the  night- 
Disappointment- -My  first  day  oat  of  the  Ck)nvent— Solitude— R«< 
collections^  tears,  and  plans. 


OBAPTER  n, 


Start  for  Quebec— Reeosnised— Disappointed  agaliH-Not  per- 
mitted to  land— Return  to  Montreal— Landed  and  passed  throu^ 
the  city  before  day— Lachine  Canal— Intended  close  of  my  life. 

ODAFTER  HI 967 

Awake  among  strangers— Dr.  Robertson— Imprisoned  as  a  vrn* 
fimnt— Introduction  to  my  mother->8tay  in  her  house— Removal 
unom  it  to  Mrs.  McDonald's— Return  to  my  mother's— Desire  to  gel 
fo  New  York— Arrangements  for  going. 


10 


CONTENTS. 


OBAFTER  IT 278 

Singular  concurrence  of  circumstances,  which  enabled  me  to 
get  to  the  United  States—Intentions  in  going  there — Commence 
my  journey — Fears  oMny  companion — Stop  at  Whitehallr-lnjury 
received  in  a  Canal  boat— Arrival  at  New  York— A  solitary  retreat. 

uimp 
CfHAPTER  V 284 

Reflections  and  sorrows  in  solitude— Night— Fears — Exposure 
to  rain — Discovered  by  str anger s->llieir  unwelcome  kindness — 
Taken  to  the  Bellcvue  Almshouse. 

CHAPTER  VI ^ 

Reception  at  the  Almshouse — Message  from  Mr.  Conroy,  a  Ro- 
man priest  in  New  York— His  inviteM.iou:<«i  to  a  private  interview — 
His  claims,  propositions,  and  threats- Mr.  Kelly's  message — Ef- 
fects of  readmg  the  Bible. 

CHAPTER  VII 297 

Proposition  to  go  to  Montreal  and  testify  against  the  priests — 
Commencement  of  my  journey— Stop  at  Troy,  Whitehall,  Bur- 
lington, St.  Alban's,  Plattsburgh,  and  St.  John's — Arrival  at  Mon- 
treal— Reflections  on  passing  the  Nunnery,  &c. 

CHAPTER  IX 3d7 

Received  into  a  hospitable  family— Fluctuating  feelings— Visits 
from  several  persons— Father  Phelan's  declarations  against  me  in 
his  church— Interviews  with  a  Journeyman  Carpenter— Argu- 
ments with  him. 

CHAPTER  X 313 

Milkman— An  Irishwoman— Difllculty  in  hafving  my  Affidavit  ta- 
ken—Legal objection  to  it  when  taken. 

CHAPTER  XI 316 

Interview  with  the  Attorney  General  of  the  Province— Attempt 
to  abduct  me — More  interviews— A  mob  excited  against  me — Pro- 
tected by  two  soldiers— Convinced  that  an  investigation  of  my 
charges  could  not  be  obtained— Departure  from  Montreal— Closing 
reflections. 


^ 


m.  BEVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  sr'»'ECT. 

TM  TfcUTH  OP  THB  "  AWVCL  DISCLOSURES  BY  MaRIA  Mo:'^"  DK- 

aiONBTRATfio^ ;  ..  327 

*  DiflTerent  classes  of  Objectors— Question  of  probability— Wit- 
nesses in  favour— Corroborations— Circumstantial  evidence— Pa- 
pist books  warrant  thesii  crimes—Eztracts— List  of  priests  seen  In 
the  Nunnery. 

SUPPLEMENT. 
ftewnipnoM  or  thb  Ncnmbrt,  Ac.  in  thb  FRONnsrao 864 

Enrors  corrected— Additional  particulars  about  the  interior  of 
ihe  Nunnery— The  Nunnery  Grounds. 


AWFUL   DISCLOSUREa 


Ml " 

'  il'' 

]r 

H    'I. 


r| 


hi 


1r 


CHAPTER  L 


EARLY   RECOLLECTIONS. 


I  .i« 


)    i: 


Earln  Li/^~~^^liffiou8  Education  neglected— First  Sckooia — 
Entrance  into  the  School  of  the  Congregational  ATMnnery— 
Brief  Account  of  the  Nunneries  in  Montreal— The  Congrth 
gational  Nunnery— The  Black  Nunnery— The  Grey  Nun- 
nery — Public  Respect  for  these  Institutions— Instruction  Rt- 
cHved—The  Catechism— TTie  Bible, 

My  parents  were  both  from  Scotland,  but  had  been 
resident  in  Lower  Canada  some  time  before  their 
marriage,  which  took  place  in  Montreal ;  and  in  that 
city  I  have  spent  most  of  my  life.  I  was  born  at  St. 
John's,  where  they  lived  for  a  short  time.  My  father 
was  an  officer  under  the  British  government,  and  my 
mother  has  enjoyed  a  pension  on  that  account  ever 
since  his  death.* 

According  to  my  earliest  recollections,  he  was 
attentive  to  his  family ;  and  a  particular  passagafrom 
the  Bible,  which  often  occurred  to  my  mind  in  afler 
life,  I  may  very  probably  have  been  taught  by  him,  as 

*  See  the  affidavit  of  William  Miller,  in  the  Appendix. 


l! 


1^^ 


4 


V' 

I' 
't(?i« 

I- 


i- 


12 


BARLY   RECOLLECTIONS. 


rtd 


after  his  death  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  received  any- 
religious  instruction  at  home;  and  was  not  even 
brought  up  to  read  the  scriptures:  my  mother,  al- 
though nominally  a  Protestant,  not  being  accustom- 
ed to  pay  attention  to  her  children  in  this  respect. 
She  was  rather  inclined  to  think  well  of  the  Catho- 
lics, and  often  attended  their  churches.  To  my  want 
of  religious  instruction  at  home,  and  the  ignorance 
of  my  Creator,  and  my  duty,  which  was  its  natural 
effect,  I  think  I  can  trace  my  introduction  to  Con- 
vents, and  the  scenes  which  I  am  to  describe  in  this 
narrative. 

When  about  six  or  seven  years  of  age,  I  went  to 
school  to  a  Mr.  Workman,  a  Protestant,  who  taught 
in  Sacrament-street,  and  remained  several  months. 
There  I  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  arithmetic  as 
far  as  division.  All  the  progress  I  ever  made  in 
those  branches  was  gained  in  that  school,  as  I  have 
never  improved  in  any  of  them  since. 

A  number  of  girls  of  my  acquaintance  went  to 
school  to  the  nuns  of  the  Congregational  Nunnery, 
or  Sisters  of  Charity,  as  they  are  sometimes  called. 
The  schools  taught  by  them  are  perhaps  more  nu- 
merous than  some  of  my  readers  may  imagine. 
Nuns  are  sent  out  from  that  Convent  to  many  of  the 
towns  and  villages  of  Canada  to  teach  small  schools ; 
and  some  of  them  are  established  as  instructresses 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States.  When  I  was 
about  ten  years  old,  my  mother  asked  me  one  day 
if  I  should  not  like  to  learn  to  read  and  write 
French ;  and  I  then  began  to  think  seriously  of  at- 


"  V 


JBtH 


EARLY   RECOLLECTIONS. 


13 


tending  the  school  in  the  Congregational  Nunnery. 
I  had  already  some  acquaintance  with  that  language, 
sufficient  to  speak  it  a  little,  as  I  heard  it  every  day, 
and  my  mother  knew  something  of  it. 
.  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  my  first  entrance 
into  the  Nunnery ;  and  the  day  was  an  important  one 
in  my  life,  as  on  it  commenced  my  acquaintance 
with  a  Convent.     I  was  conducted  by  some  of  my 
young  friends  along   N6tre   Dame-street   till  we 
reached  the  gate.     Entering  that,  we  walked  some 
distance  along  the  side  of  a  building  towards  the 
chapel,  until  we  reached  a  door,  stopped,  and  rung  a 
bell.     This  was  soon  opened,  and  entering,  we  pro- 
ceeded through  a  long  covered  passage  till  we  took 
a  short  turn  to  the  left,  soon  after  which  we  reached 
the  door  of  the  school-room.     On  my  entrance,  the 
Superior  met  me,  and  told  me  first  of  all,  that  I  must 
always  dip  my  fingers  into  the  holy  water  at  her 
door,  cross  myself,  and  say  a  short  prayer;  and  this 
she  told  me  was  always  required  of  Protestant  as 
well  as  Catholic  children. 

There  were  about  fifty  girls  in  the  school,  and 
the  nuns  professed  to  teach  something  of  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  and  geography.  The  methods 
however  were  very  imperfect,  and  little  attention  was 
devoted  to  them,  the  time  being  in  a  great  degree 
engrossed  with  lessons  in  needle-work,  which  was 
performed  w^ith  much  skill.  The  nuns  bad  no  very 
regular  parts  assigned  them  in  the  management  of 
the  schools.  They  were  rather  rough  and  unpol- 
ished in  their  manners,  often  exclaiming,  "c'est  un 


I 


I/' 


■  '1 1 


ir 


f    1 


.:•    '\-- 


14 


KARLY    RSC0LLECTI0N8. 


ii 


menti,"  (that's  a  lie,)  and  "  mon  Dieu,"  (my  God,) 
on  the  most  trivial  occasions.  Their  writing  was 
quite  poor,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  them  to  put 
a  capital  letter  in  the  middle  of  a  word.  The  only 
book  on  geography  which  we  studied,  was  a  cate- 
chism of  geography,  from  which  we  learnt  by  heart 
a  few  questions  and  answers.  We  were  sometimes 
referred  to  a  map,  but  it  was  only  to  point  out  Mon- 
treal  or  Ctuebec,  or  some  other  prominent  name, 
while  we  had  no  instruction  beyond. 

It  may  be  necessary  for  the  information  of  some 
of  my  readers,  to  mention  that  there  are  three  dis- 
tinct Convents  in  Montreal,  all  of  different  kinds ; 
that  is,  founded  on  different  plans,  and  governed  by 
different  rules.     Their  names  are  as  follows: — 

1st.  The  Congregational  Nunnery. 

2d.  The  Black  Nunnery,  or  Convent  of  Sister 
Bourgeoise. 

3d.  The  Grey  Nunnery. 

The  first  of  these  professes  to  be  devoted  entirely 
to  the  education  of  girls.  It  would  require  however 
only  a  proper  examination  to  prove  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  needle-work,  hardly  any  thing  is  taught 
excepting  prayers  and  the  catechism ;  the  instruction 
in  reading,  writing,  &c.,  in  fact,  amounting  to  very 
little,  and  often  to  nothing.  This  Convent  is  adja- 
cent to  that  next  to  be  spoken  of,  being  separated 
from  it  only  by  a  wall.  The  second  professes  to 
be  a  charitable  institution  for  the  care  of  the  sick, 
and  the  supply  of  bread  and  medicines  for  the  poor; 
and  something  is  done  in  these  departments  of  char- 


KARLY    REC0LLBCTI0N4. 


15 


icy,  although  but  an  insignificant  amount,  compared 
with  the  size  of  the  buildings,  and  the  number  of 
the  inmates. 

The  Grey  Nunnery,  which  is  situated  in  a  dis- 
tant part  of  the  city,  is  also  a  large  edifice,  contain- 
ing departments  for  the  care  of  insane  persons  an< 
foundlings.  With  this,  however,  I  have  less  personal 
acquaintance  than  with  either  of  the  others.  I  ha 76 
often  seen  two  of  the  Grey  nuns,  and  know  that 
their  rules,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Congregational 
Nunnery,  do  not  confine  them  alwa5''s  within  their 
walls,  like  those  of  the  Black  Nunnery.  These 
two  Convents  have  their  common  names  (Black  and 
Grey)  from  the  colours  of  the  dresses  worn  by  their 
inmates. 

In  all  these  three  Convents,  there  are  certain  apart- 
ments into  v/hich  strangers  can  gain  admittance,  but 
others  from  which  they  are  always  excluded.  In 
all,  large  quantities  of  various  aments  are  made 
by  the  nuns,  which  are  expose^  for  sale  in  the  Or- 
nament Rooms,  and  afford  large  pecuniary  receipts 
every  year,  which  contribute  much  to  their  incomes. 
In  these  rooms  visiters  often  purchase  such  things 
as  please  them  from  some  of  the  old*  and  confidential 
nuns  who  have  the  charge  of  them. 

From  all  that  appears  to  the  public  eye,  the  nuns 
of  these  Convents  are  devoted  to  the  charitable  ob- 
jects appropriate  to  each,  the  labour  of  making  diflfer- 
ent  articles,  known  to  be  manufactured  by  them,  and 
■I  ■  i< 

*  The  term  "  old  nun,"  does  not  always  indicate  superior  age* 


f  I « 


:>i 


i 


frlvtf 


■  f 


1   t. 


\:  > 


k* 


16 


BARLY   RBCOLLECTIONfl. 


n 


a 'I 


the  religious  observances,  which  occupy  a  large  por* 
tion  of  their  time.  They  are  regarded  with  much 
respect  by  the  people  at  large ;  and  now  and  then 
when  a  novice  takes  the  veil,  she  is  supposed  to  re- 
tire from  the  temptations  and  troubles  of  this  world 
into  a  state  of  holy  seclusion,  where,  by  prayer,  self- 
mortification,  and  good  deeds,  she  prepares  herself 
for  heaven.  Sometimes  the  Superior  of  a  Convent 
obtains  the  character  of  working  miracles;  and 
when  such  a  one  dies,  it  is  published  through  the 
country,  and  crowds  throng  the  Convent,  who  think 
indulgences  are  to  be  derived  from  bits  of  her  clothes 
or  other  things  she  has  possessed ;  and  many  have 
sent  articles  to  be  touched  to  her  bed  or  chair,  in 
which  a  degree  of  virtue  is  thought  to  remain. 
I  used  to  participate  in  such  ideas  and  feelings,  and 
began  by  degrees  to  look  upon  a  nun  as  the  happiest 
of  women,  and  a  Convent  as  the  most  peaceful,  holy, 
and  delightful  place  of  abode.  It  is  true,  some  pains 
were  taken  to  impress  such  views  upon  me.  Some 
of  the  priests  of  the  Seminary  often  visited  the  Con- 
gregational Nunnery,  and  both  catechised  and 
talked  with  us  on  religion.  The  Superior  of  the 
Black  Nunnery  adjoining,  also,  occasionally  came 
into  the  School,  enlarged  on  the  advantages  we 
enjoyed  in  having  such  teachers,  and  dropped  some- 
thing now  and  then  relating  to  her  own  Convent, 
calculated  to  make  us  entertain  the  highest  ideas  of 
it,  and  to  make  us  sometimes  think  of  the  possibility 
of  getting  into  it. 
Among  the  instructions  given  us  by  the  priests. 


SARLT   RBOOLLEOTIOKff. 


ir 


some  of  the  most  pointed  were  those  directed  against 
the  Protestant  Bible.  They  ollen  enlarged  upon  the 
evil  tendency  of  that  book,  and  told  us  that  but  for  it 
many  a  soul  now  condemned  to  hell,  and  suffering 
eternal  punishment,  might  have  been  in  happiness. 
They  could  not  say  any  thing  in  its  favour :  for  that 
would  be  speaking  against  religion  and  against 
God.  They  warned  us  against  it,  and  represented 
it  as  a  thing  very  dangerous  to  our  souls.  In 
confirmation  of  this,  they  would  repeat  some  of 
the  answers  taught  us  at  catechism,  a  few  of  which 
I  will  here  give.  We  had  little  catechisms  (•'  Le 
Petit  Catechism")  put  into  our  hands  to  study; 
but  the  priests  soon  began  to  teach  us  a  new  set  of 
answers,  which  were  not  to  be  found  in  our  books, 
from  some  of  which  I  received  new  ideas,  and  got, 
as  I  thought,  important  light  on  religious  subjects, 
which  confirmed  me  more  and  more  in  my  belief  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  doctrines.  These  questions  and 
answers  I  can  still  recall  with  tolerable  accuracy? 
and  some  of  them  I  will  add  here.  I  never  have 
read  them,  as  we  were  taught  them  only  by  word 
of  mouth. 

Question.  "  Pourquoi  le  bon  Dieu  n'a  pas  fait 
tous  les  commandemens  ? 

Reponse.  "  Parce  que  I'homme  n*est  pas  si  fort 
qu'il  pent  garder  tous  ses  commandemens. 

Q.  ••  Why  did  not  God  make  all  the  command- 
ments ? 

A.  "  Because  man  is  not  strong  enough  to  keep 
them. 

2* 


Hi! 


i ' 


'    r 


I 


i'ih,M 


n 


II 


■AKLT   RBCOLLBOTIOMf. 


k 


And  another.  Q.  "  Pourquoi  Thomme  ne  lit  pas 
TEvangile? 

R,  "  Parce  que  Tesprit  de  Phomme  est  tropborn^ 
et  trop  faible  pour  comprendre  qu'est  ce  que  Dieu  a 
^crit. 

Q.  **  Why  are  men  not  to  read  the  New  Testa- 
ment?" 

A.  **  Because  the  mind  of  man  is  too  limited  and 
weak  to  understand  what  Qod  has  written." 

These  questions  and  answers  are  not  to  be  found 
in  the  common  catechisms  in  use  in  Montreal  and 
other  places  where  I  have  been,  but  all  the  children 
in  the  Congregational  Nunnery  were  taught  them, 
and  many  more  not  found  in  these  books. 


m 


s 


CHAPTER  II. 

C0NOB£OATIONAL   NUNNBRY. 

Story  told  by  QfellotB  Pupil  against  a  PHeat^  Other  Stor{u-^ 
Prttty  Mary—Confeaa  to  F\tther  Richar(U^My  tubooquunt 
Cor\fea»iona — L^i  the  Congregational  Nunnery* 

There  was  a  girl  thirteen  years  old  whom  I 
knew  in  the  School,  who  resided  in  the  neighbour* 
hood  of  my  mother,  and  with  whom  I  had  been 
familiar.  She  told  me  one  day  at  school  of  the 
conduct  of  a  priest  with  her  at  confession,  at  which 
I  was  astonished.  It  was  of  so  criminal  and  shame- 
ful a  nature,  I  could  hardly  believe  it,  and  yet  I  had 
so  much  confidence  that  she  spoke  the  truth,  that  I 
could  not  discredit  it. 

She  was  partly  persuaded  by  the  priest  to  believe 
he  could  not  sin,  because  he  was  a  priest,  and  that 
any  thing  he  did  to  her  would  sanctify  her;  and  yet 
she  seemed  somewhat  doubtful  how  she  should  act. 
A  priest,  she  had  been  told  by  him,  is  a  holy  man, 
and  appointed  to  a  holy  office,  and  therefore  what 
would  be  wicked  in  other  men,  could  not  be  so  in 
him.  She  told  me  that  she  had  informed  her 
mother  of  it,  who  expressed  no  anger  nor  disappro- 
bation, but  only  enjoined  it  upon  her  not  to  speak  of 
it ;  and  remarked  to  her,  that  as  priests  were  not  like 
other  men,  but  holy,  and  sent  to  instruct  and  save 
us,  whatever  they  did  was  right. 


I*  i>  I 


i! 


*      ..  '( 


I' 


I 


M 


rj 


20 


CONGREGATIONAL     NUNNERY. 


I J 


t  >  If. 


1  afterward  confessed  to  the  priest  that  I  had 
heard  the  story,  and  had  a  penance  to  perform  for 
indulging  a  sinful  curiosity  in  making  inquiries; 
and  the  girl  had  another  for  communicating  it.  I 
afterward  learned  that  other  children  had  been 
treated  in  the  same  manner,  and  also  of  similar  pro- 
ceedings in  other  places. 

Indeed,  it  was  not  long  before  such  language  was 
used  to  me,  and  I  well  remember  how  my  views  of 
right  and  wrong  were  shaken  by  it.  Another  girl- 
at  the  School,  from  a  place  above  Montreal,  called 
the  Lac,  told  me  tha  following  story  of  what  had 
occurred  recently  in  that  vicinity.  A  young  squaw, 
called  la  Belle  Marie,  (pretty  Mary,)  had  been  seen 
going  to  confession  at  the  house  of  the  priest,  who 
lived  a  little  out  of|fhe  village.  La  Belle  Marie 
was  afterward  missed,  and  her  murdered  body  was 
found  in  the  river.  A  knife  was  also  found  cov- 
ered with  blood,  bearing  the  priest's  name.  Great 
indignation  was  excited  among  the  Indians,  and 
the  priest  immediately  absconded,  and  was  never 
heard  from  again.  A  note  was  found  on  his  table 
addressed  to  him,  telling  him  to  fly  if  he  was  guilty. 

It  was  supposed  that  the  priest  was  fearful  that 
his  conduct  might  be  betrayed  by  this  young  female ; 
and  he  undertook  to  clear  himself  by  killing  her. 

These  stories  struck  me  with  surprise  at  first,  but 
I  gradually  began  to  feel  differently,  even  supposing 
them  true,  and  to  look  upon  the  priests  as  men  in- 
oapable  of  sin ;  besides,  when  I  first  went  to  con- 
fession, which  I  did  to  Father  Richards,  in  the  old 


f 


CONGREGATIONAL    NUNNERY. 


21 


French  church,  (since  taken  down,)  I  heard  nothing 
improper ;  and  it  was  not  until  I  had  been  several 
times,  that  the  priests  became  more  and  more  bold, 
and  were  at  length  indecent  in  their  questions  and 
even  in  their  conduct  when  I  confessed  to  them  in 
ihe  Sacristie.  This  subject  I  believe  is  not  under- 
stood nor  suspected  among  Protestants;  and  it  is 
not  my  intention  to  speak  of  it  very  particularly, 
because  it  is  impossible  to  do  so  without  saying 
Ihings  both  shameful  and  demoralizing. 

I  will  only  say  here,  that  when  quite  a  child, 
[  had  from  the  mouths  of  the  priests  at  confession 
what  I  cannot  repeat,  with  treatment  corresponding ; 
and  several  females  in  Canada  have  recently  assured 
me,  that  they  have  repeatedly,  and  indeed  regularly, 
been  required  to  answer  the  same  and  other  like 
questions,  many  of  which  present  to  the  mind  deeds 
which  the  most  iniquitous  and  corrupt  heart  could 
hardly  invent. 

There  was  a  frequent  change  of  teachers  in  the 
School  of  the  Nunnery ;  and  no  regular  system  was 
pursued  in  our  instruction.  There  were  many 
nuns  who  came  and  went  while  I  was  there,  being 
frequently  called  in  and  out  without  any  perceptible 
reason.  They  supply  school  teachers  to  many  of 
the  country  towns,  usually  two  for  each  of  the  towns 
with  which  I  was  acquainted,  besides  sending  Sisters 
of  Charity  to  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Among  those  whom  I  saw  most,  was  Saint  Patrick, 
an  old  woman  for  a  nun,  (that  is,  about  forty,) 
very  ignorant,  and  gross  in  her  manners,  with  quite 


il 


i; 


m1 


'  J 


I' 


I! 


'  h) 


111 


c- 


(I  ■■' 


M 


I 


4 


n 


CONGREGATIONAL    NUNNERY. 


a  beard  on  her  face,  and  very  cross  and  disagree- 
able. She  was  sometimes  our  teacher  in  sewing, 
and  was  appointed  to  keep  order  among  us.  We 
were  allowed  to  enter  only  a  few  of  the  rooms  in  the 
Congregational  Nunnery,  although  it  was  not  con 
sidered  one  of  the  secluded  Convents. 

In  the  Black  Nunnery,  which  is  very  near  the 
Congregational,  is  an  hospital  for  sick  people  from 
the  city ;  and  sometimes  some  of  our  boarders,  such 
as  were  indisposed,  were  sent  there  to  be  cured.  I 
was  once  taken  ill  myself  and  sent  there,  where  I 
remained  a  few  days. 

There  were  beds  enough  for  a  considerable  num- 
ber more.  A  physician  attended  it  daily ;  and 
there  are  a  number  of  the  veiled  nuns  of  that  Con- 
vent who  spend  most  of  their  time  there. 

These  would  also  sometimes  read  lectures  and 
repeat  prayers  to  us. 

After  I  had  been  in  the  Congregational  Nun- 
nery about  two  years,  I  left  it,*  and  attended  several 
different  schools  for  a  short  time ;  but  I  soon  be- 
came dissatisfied,  having  many  and  severe  trials  to 
endure  at  home,  which  my  feelings  will  not  allow 
me  to  describe ;  and  as  my  Catholic  acquaintances 
had  often  spoken  to  me  in  favour  of  their  faith,  I  was 
inclined  to  believe  it  true,  although,  as  I  before  said, 
I  knew  little  of  any  religion.  While  out  of  the  nun- 
nery, I  saw  nothing  of  religion.  If  I  had,  I  believe 
I  should  never  have  thought  of  becoming  a  nun. 

*  See  the  2d  affidavit 


■'« 


-{ 


CHAPTER  III. 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


Preparations  to  become  a  Novice  in  the  Black _Nunner^f— En- 
trance— Occupations  of  the  Novices — T%c  Apartments  to 
tohich  they  had  Access — JFHrst  Interview  with  Jane  Ray — 
Reverence  for  the  Superior — Her  Reliques —  77tfi  Holy  Good 
Shepherd^  or  nameless  Nun — Confession  of  Novices. 

At  length  I  determined  to  become  a  Black  nun, 
and  called  upon  one  of  the  oldest  priests  in  the 
Seminary,  to  whom  I  made  known  my  intention. 

The  old  priest  to  whom  I  applied  was  Father 
Rocque.  He  is  still  alive.  He  was  at  that  time 
the  oldest  priest  in  the  Seminary,  and  carried  the 
Bon  Dieu,  (Good  God,)  as  the  sacramental  wafer  is 
called.  When  going  to  administer  it  in  any  country 
place,  he  used  to  ride  with  a  man  before  him,  who 
rang  a  bell  as  a  signal.  When  the  Canadians 
heard  it,  whose  habitations  he  passed,  they  would 
come  and  prostrate  themselves  to  the  earth,  worship- 
ping It  as  God.  He  was  a  man  of  great  age,  and 
wore  large  curls,  so  that  he  somewhat  resembled  his 
predecessor.  Father  Roue.  He  was  at  that  time  at 
the  head  of  the  Seminary.  This  institution  is  a  large 
edifice,  situated  near  the  Congregational  and  Black 
Nunnerieo,  being  on  the  east  side  of  Ndtre  Dame- 
street.  It  is  the  general  rendezvous  and  centre  of 
all  the  priests  in  the  District  of  Montreal,  and,  I  have 


i 


^\: 


<•  ".f 


-li  ' 


24 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


1^ 


\4 


been  told,  supplies  all  the  country  with  priests  as 
far  down  as  Three  Rivers,  which  place,  I  believe, 
is  under  the  charge  of  the  Seminary  of  Gluebec. 
About  one  hundred  and  fifty  priests  are  connected 
with  that  of  Montreal,  as  every  small  place  has  one 
priest,  and  a  number  of  larger  ones  have  two. 

Father  Rocque  promised  to  converse  with  the  Su- 
perior of  the  Conv^  and  proposed  my  calling 
again  at  the  end  of  two  weeks,  at  which  time  I  visited 
the  Seminary  again,  and  was  introduced  by  him  to 
the  Superior  of  the  Black  Nunnery.  She,  told  me 
she  must  make  some  inquiries,  before  she  could 
give  me  a  decided  answer ;  and  proposed  to  me  to 
take  up  my  abode  a  few  days  at  the  house  of  a 
French  family  in  St.  Lawrence  suburbs,  a  distant 
part  of  the  city.  Here  I  remained  about  a  fortnight ; 
during  which  time  I  formed  some  acquaintance 
with  the  family,  particularly  with  the  mistress  of  the 
house,  who  was  a  devoted  Papist,  and  had  a  high 
respect  for  the  Superior,  with  whom  she  stood  on 
good  terms. 

At  length,  on  Saturdaymorning  about  ten  o'clock, 
I  called  and  was  admitted  into  the  Black  Nunnery, 
as  a  novice,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  for  I  had  a 
high  idea  of  a  life  in  a  Convent,  secluded,  as  I  sup- 
posed the  inmates  to  be,  from  the  world  and  all  its 
evil  influences,  and  assured  of  everlasting  happiness 
in  heaven.  The  Superior  received  me,  and  con- 
ducted me  into  a  large  room,  where  the  novices, 
(who  are  called  in  French  Postulantes,)  were  as- 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


t$ 


senibled,  and  engaged  in  their  customary  occupa- 
tion of  sewing. 

Here  were  about  forty  of  them,  and  they  were 
collected  in  groups  in  different  parts  of  the  room, 
chiefly  near  the  windows ;  but  in  each  group  was 
found  one  of  the  veiled  nuns  of  the  Convent,  whose 
abode  was  in  the  interior  apartments,  to  which  no 
novice  was  to  be  admitted.  As  we  entered,  the  Su- 
perior informed  the  assembly  that  a  new  novice  had 
come,  and  she  desired  any  present  who  might  have 
known  me  in  the  world  to  signify  it. 

Two  Miss  Fougnees,  and  a  Miss  Howard,  from 
Vermont,  who  had  been  my  fellow-pupils  in  the 
Congregational  Nunnery,  immediately  recognised 
me.  I  was  then  placed  in  one  of  the  groups,  at  a 
distance  from  them,  and  furnished  by  a  nun  called 
Sainte  Clotilde,  with  materials  to  make  a  kind  of 
purse,  such  as  the  priests  use  to  carry  the  consecrated 
wafer  in,  when  they  go  to  administer  the  sacrament 
to  the  sick.  I  well  remember  my  feelings  at  that 
time,  sitting  among  a  number  of  strangers,  and  ex- 
pecting with  painful  anxiety  the  arrival  of  the  din- 
ner hour.  Then,  as  I  knew,  ceremonies  were  to  be 
performed,  for  which  I  was  but  ill  prepared,  as  I  had 
not  yet  heard  the  rules  by  which  I  was  to  be  gov- 
erned, and  knew  nothing  of  the  forms  to  be  repeated 
in  the  daily  exercises,  except  the  creed  in  Latin,  and 
that  imperfectly.  This  was  during  the  time  of  rec- 
reation, as  it  is  called.  The  only  recreation  there 
allowed,  however,  is  that  of  the  mind,  and  of  this 
there  is  but  little.     We  were  kept  at  work,  and  per- 


"  ( 

i   t 
I 


:\ 


■li 


!' 


■i- 

I 


t 


i 


♦  ^'J 


M 


\t 


ti 


it'i 


i  1 


S' 


*.  ^) 


26 


BL4CK   NVNNERT. 


pi 

\i 


mitted  to  speak  with  each  other  only  on  such  sub- 
jects as  relate  to  the  Convent,  and  all  in  the  hearing 
of  the  old  nuns  who  sat  by  us.  We  proceeded  to 
dinner  in  couples,  and  ate  in  silence  while  a  lec- 
ture was  read. 

The  novices  had  access  to  only  eight  of  the  apart- 
ments of  the  Convent ;  and  whatever  else  we  wish- 
ed to  know,  we  could  only  conjecture.  The  sleep- 
ing room  was  in  the  second  story,  at  the  end  of  the 
western  wing.  The  beds  were  placed  in  rows, 
without  curtains  or  any  thing  else  to  obstruct  the 
view ;  and  in  one  corner  was  a  small  room  partition- 
ed off,  in  which  was  the  bed  of  the  night-watch,  that 
is,  the  old  nun  that  was  appointed  to  oversee  us  for 
the  night.  In  each  side  of  the  partition  were  two 
holes,  through  which  she  could  look  out  upon  us 
whenever  she  pleased.  Her  bed  was  a  little  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  others.  There  was  a  lamp 
hung  in  the  middle  of  our  chamber,  Avhich  showed 
every  thing  to  her  distinctly ;  and  as  she  had  no 
light  in  her  little  room,  we  never  could  perceive 
whether  she  was  awake  or  asleep.  As  we  knew  that 
the  slightest  deviation  from  the  rules  would  expose 
us  to  her  observation,  as  w^ell  as  to  that  of  our 
companions,  in  whom  it  was  a  virtue  to  betray  one 
another's  fauhs,  as  well  as  to  confess  our  own,  I 
felt  myself  under  a  continual  exposure  to  suffer  what 
I  disliked,  and  had  my  mind  occupied  in  thinking 
of  what  I  was  to  do  next,  and  what  I  must  avoid. 

I  soon  learned  the  rules  and  ceremonies  we  haa 
to  regard,  which  were  many ;  and  we  had  to  be  very 


'M 


I 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


27 


particular  in  their  observance.  We  were  employed 
in  different  kinds  of  work  while  I  was  a  novice. 
The  most  beautiful  specimen  of  the  nuns'  manufac- 
ture which  I  saw,  was  a  rich  carpet  made  of  fine 
worsted,  which  had  been  begun  before  my  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Convent,  and  was  finished  while  I 
was  there.  This  was  sent  as  a  present  to  the  King 
of  England,  as  an  expression  of  gratitude  for  the 
money  annually  received  from  the  government.  It 
was  about  forty  yards  in  length,  and  very  handsome. 
We  were  ignorant  of  the  amount  of  money  thus  re- 
ceived. The  Convent  of  Grey  Nuns  has  also  re- 
ceived funds  from  the  government,  though  on  some 
account  or  other,  had  not  for  several  years. 

I  was  sitting  by  a  window  at  one  time,  with  a 
girl  named  Jane  M*Coy,  when  one  of  the  old  nuns 
came  up  and  spoke  to  us  in  a  tone  of  liveliness  and 
kindness  which  seemed  strange,  in  a  place  where 
everything  appeared  so  cold  and  reserved.  Some 
remark  which  she  made  was  evidently  intended  to 
cheer  and  encourage  me,  and  made  me  think  that 
she  felt  some  interest  in  me.  I  do  not  recollect  what 
she  said,  but  I  remember  it  gave  me  pleasure.  I 
also  remember  that  her  manner  struck  me  singu- 
larly. She  was  rather  old  for  a  nun,  that  is,  proba- 
bly thirty ;  her  figure  large,  her  face  wrinkled,  and 
her  dress  careless.  She  seemed  also  to  be  under 
less  restraint  than  the  others,  and«this,  I  aflerward 
found,  was  the  case.  She  sometimes  even  set  the 
rules  at  defiance.  She  would  speak  aloud  when 
silence  was  required,  and  sometimes  walk   about 


M 


'■  I.I 


1  ' 


i'lt 


I  it 


4 


!i 


w 


I 

h     * 


1» 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


\h  ; 


!  I 


1. 


Twhen  she  ought  to  have  kept  her  place :  she  would 
even  say  and  do  things  on  purpose  to  make  us 
laugh ;  and  although  often  blamed  for  her  conduct, 
had  her  ofTences  frequently  passed  over,  when  others 
would  have  been  punished  with  penances. 

I  learnt  that  this  woman  had  alwa^^s  been  singular. 
She  never  would  consent  to  take  a  saint's  name  on 
receiving  the  veil,  and  had  always  been  known  by 
her  own,  which  was  Jane  Ray.  Her  irregularities 
were  found  to  be  numerous,  and  penances  were  of 
so  little  use  in  governing  her,  that  she  was  pitied  by 
some,  who  thought  her  partially  insane.  She  was 
therefore  commonly  spoken  of  as  mad  Jane  Ray ; 
and  when  she  committed  a  fault,  it  was  often  apolo- 
gized for  by  the  Superior  or  other  nuns,  on  the 
ground  that  she  did  not  know  what  she  did. 

The  occupations  of  a  novice  in  the  Black  Nun- 
nery are  not  ^uch  as  some  of  my  readers  may 
suppose.     They  are  not  employed  in  studying  the 
higher  branches  of  education ;  they  are  not  offered 
any  advantages  for  storing  their  minds,  or  polishing 
their  manners  j  they  are  not  taught  even  reading, 
writing,  or  arithmetic ;  much  less  any  of  the  more 
advanced  branches  of  knowledge.     My  time  was 
chiefly  employed,  at  first,  jn  work  and  prayers.     It 
is  true,  during  the  last  yerfJr  I  studied  a  great  deal, 
and  was  required  to  work  but  very  little ;  but  it  was 
the  study  of  prayers  in  French  and  Latin,  which  I 
had  merely  to  commit  to  memory,  to  prepare  for  the 
easy  repetition  of  them  on  my  reception,  and  after  I 
should  be  admitted  as  a  nun. 


•  1  ] 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


Among  the  wonderful  events  which  had  happened 
in  the  Convent,  that  of  the  sudden  conversion  of  a 
gay  young  lady  of  the  city  into  a  nun,  appeared  to 
me  one  of  the  most  remarkable.  The  story  which  I 
first  heard,  while  a  novice,  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  my  mind.     It  was  nearly  as  follows : — 

The  daughter  of  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Montreal 
was  passing  the  church  of  Bon  Secours,  one  even- 
ing, on  her  way  to  a  ball,  when  she  was  suddenly 
thrown  down  upon  the  steps  or  near  the  door,  and 
received  a  severe  shock.     She  was  taken  up,  and 
removed  first,  I  think,  into  the  church,  but  soon  into 
the  Black  Nunnery,  which  she  soon  determined  to 
join  as  a  nun ;  instead,  however,  of  being  required 
to  pass  through  a  long  novitiate,  (which  usually  oc- 
cupies about  two  years  and  a  half,  and  is  abridged 
only  where  the  character  is  peculiarly  exemplary 
and  devout,)  she  was  permitted  to  take  the  veil 
without  delay ;  being  declared  by  God  to  a  priest  to 
be  in  a  state  of  sanctity,     The  meaning  of  this  ex- 
pression is,  that  she  was  a  real  saint,  and  already  in 
a  great  measure  raised  above  the  world  and  its  in- 
fluences, and  incapable  of  sinning,  possessing  the 
power  of  intercession,  and  being  a  proper  object  to  be 
addressed  in  prayer.    This  remarkable  individual  I 
was  further  informed  was  still  in  the  Convent,  though 
I  never  was  allowed  to  see  her ;  she  did  not  mingle 
with  the  other  nuns,  either  at  work,  worship,  or 
meals ;  for  she  had  no  need  of  food,  and  not  only  her 
soul,  but  her  body,  was  in  heaven  a  great  part  of 
the  time.     What  added,  if  possible,  to  the  reverence 


'     Mfi 


t 


!  ,       I     ) 


m 


90 


BLACK   MVNMBRT. 


\  ^ 


i4; 


azid  mysterious  awe  with  which  I  thought  of  her, 
was  the  fact  I  learned,  that  she  had  no  name.  The 
titles  used  in  speaking  of  her  were,  the  holy  saint, 
reverend  mother,  or  saint  bon  pasteur,  (the  holy  good 
shepherd.) 

It  is  wonderful  that  we  could  have  carried  our 
reverence  for  the  Superior  as  far  as  we  did,  although 
it  was  the  direct  tendency  of  many  instructions  and 
regulations,  indeed  of  the  whole  system,  to  permit, 
even  to  foster  a  superstitious  regard  for  her.     One 
of  us  was  occasionlly  called  into  her  room,  to  cut 
her  nails,  or  dress  her  hair ;  and  we  would  often 
collect  the  clippings,  and  distribute  thera  to  each 
other,  or  preserve  them  with  the  utmost  car«.     I  once 
picked  up  all  the  stray  hairs  I  could  find,  after  comb- 
ing her  head,  bound  them  together,  and  kept  them 
for  some  time,  until  she  told  me  I  was  not  worthy 
to  possess  things  so  sacred.     Jane  M'Coy  and  I 
were  once  sent  to  alter  a  dress  for  the  Superior.     I 
gathered  up  all  the  bits  of  thread,  made  a  little  bag, 
and  put  them  into  it  for  safe  preservation.     This  I 
wore  a  long  time  around  my  neck,  so  long,  indeed, 
that  I  wore  out  a  number  of  strings,  which,  I  remem* 
ber,  I  replaced  with  new  ones.     I  believed  it  to 
possess  the  power  of  removing  pain,  and  often  pray- 
ed to  it  to  cure  the  toothache,  &c.    Jane  Ray  some- 
times professed  to  outgo  us  all  in  devotion  to  the 
Superior,  and  would  pick  up  the  feathers  after  ma- 
king her  bed.    These  she  would  distribute  among 
US.  saying,  "  When  the  Superior  dies,  reliques  will 
i>egi|i  to  grow  scarce,  and  you  had  better  supply 


BLACK   NVNNBRT. 


31 


yourselves  in  season."     Then  she  would  treat  the 
whole  matter  in  some  way  to  turn  it  into  ridicule. 
Equally  contradictory  would  she  appear,  when  0( 
casionally  ishe  would  obtain  leave  from  the  Superior 
to  tell  her  dreams.     With  a  serious  face,  which 
sometimes  imposed  upon  all  of  us,  and  made  us 
half  believe  she  was  in  a  perfect  state  of  sanctity, 
she  would  narrate  in  French  some  unaccountable 
vision  which  she  said  she  had  enjoyed.     Then 
turning  round,  would  say,  "  There  are  some  who 
do  not  understand  me;  you  all  ought  to  be  informed.*' 
And  then  she  would  say  something  totally  different 
in  English,  which  put  us  to  the  greatest  agony  for 
fear  of  laughing.     Sometimes  she  would  say  that^ 
she  expected  to  be  Superior  herself,  oneof  these  days, 
and  other  things  which  I  have  not  room  to  repeat. 

While  I  was  in  the  Congregational  Nunnery,  I 
had  gone  to  the  parish  church  whenever  I  was  to 
confess;  for  although  the  nuns  had  a  private  con- 
fession-room in  the  building,  the  boarders  were  ta> 
ken  in  parties  through  the  streets  on  different  days 
by  some  of  the  nuns,  to  confess  in  the  church ;  but 
in  the  Black  Nunnery,  as  we  had  a  chapel  and 
priests  attending  in  the  confessionals,  we  never  left 
the  building. 

Our  confessions  there  as  novices,  were  always 
performed  in  one  way,  so  that  it  may  be  sufficient 
to  describe  a  single  case.  Thoso  of  us  who  were 
to  confess  at  a  particular  time,  took  our  places  on 
our  knees  near  the  confessional-box,  and  after  having 


i    it 


l!  •', 


h  ■ 


82 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


'    • 


It  1 


repeated  a  number  of  prayers,  &c.,  prescribed  in 
our  books,  came  up  one  at  a  time  and  kneeled  beside 
a  fine  wooden  lattice-work,  which  entirely  separated 
the  confessor  from  us,  yet  permitted  us  to  place  our 
faces  almost  to  his  ear,  and  nearly  concealed  his 
countenance  from  view,  even  when  so  near.  I  rec- 
ollect how  the  priests  used  to  recline  their  heads 
on  one  side,  and  often  covered  their  faces  with  their 
handkerchiefs,  while  they  heard  me  confess  my  sins, 
and  put  questions  to  me,  which  were  often  of  the  most 
improper  and  even  revoking  nature,  naming  crimes 
both  unthought  of  and  inhuman.  Still,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  I  was  persuaded  to  believe  that  all  this  was 
their  duty,  or  at  least  that  it  was  done  without  sin. 

Veiled  nuns  would  often  appear  in  the  chapel  at 
confession ;  though,  as  I  understood,  they  generally 
confessed  in  private.  Of  the  plan  of  their  confes. 
sion-rooms  I  had  no  information;  but  I  supposed 
the  ceremony  to  be  conducted  much  on  the  same 
plan  as  in  the  chapel  and  in  the  church,  viz.  with  a 
lattice  interposed  between  the  confessor  and  the 
confessing. 

Punishments  were  sometimes  resorted  to,  while  I 
was  a  novice,  though  but  seldom.  The  first  time  I 
ever  saw  a  gag,  was  one  day  when  a  young  novice 
had  done  something  to  offend  the  Superior.  This 
girl  I  always  had  compassion  for;  because  she  was 
very  young,  and  an  orphan.  The  Superior  sent  for 
a  gag,  and  expressed  her  regret  at  being  compelled, 
by  the  bad  conduct  of  the  child,  to  proceed  to  such 


i'l. 


%  / 


BLACK   NVNNCRT. 


38 


a  punishment ;  after  which  she  put  it  inV>  her  mouth, 
so  far  as  to  keep  it  dpen,  and  then  let  it  remain 
some  time  before  she  took  it  out.  There  was  a 
leathern  strap  fastened  to  each  end,  and  buckled  to 
the  back  part  of  the  head. 


f 

! 
I 

\ 


'^ 


■■\\ 


(  ( 


l\ 


1  ^ 


'  '), 


<  f .' 


iA 


■i'^ 


i! 


:( 


\!l 


r 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Displeased  with  the  Convent— Left  it— Residence  at  St.  Denis 
—Reliques— Marriage— Return  to  the  Black  Nunnery— Ob' 
jections  made  by  some  Novices — Ideas  of  the  Bible. 

After  I  had  been  in  the  nunneries  four  or  five 
years,  from  the  time  I  commenced  school  at  the  Con- 
gregational Convent,  one  day  I  was  treated  by  one  of 
the  nuns  in  a  manner  which  displeased  me,  and 
because  I  expressed  some  resentment,  was  required 
to  beg  her  pardon.     Not  being  satisfied  with  this, 
although  T  complied  with  the  command,  nor  with  the 
coolness  'with  which  the  Superior  treated  me,  I  deter- 
mined to  qr.it  the  Convent  at  once,  which  I  did  with- 
out asking  leave.     There   would  have    been  no 
obstacle  to  my  departure,  I  presume,  novice  as  I 
then  was,  if  I  had  asked  permission ;  but  I  was  too 
much  displeased  to  wait  for  that,  and  went  home 
without  speaking  to  any  one  on  the  subject. 

I  soon  after  visited  the  town  of  St.  Denis,  where 
I  saw  two  young  ladies  with  whom  I  had  formerly 
been  acquainted  in  Montreal,  and  one  of  them  a  for- 
mer schoolmate  at  Mr.  Workman's  school.  After 
some  conversation  with  me,  and  learning  that  I  had 
known  a  lady  who  kept  school  in  the  place,  they 
advised  me  to  apply  to  her  to  be  employed  as  her 
assistant  teacher ;  for  she  was  then  instructing  the 
government  school  in  that  place* 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


35 


I  visited  her,  and  found  her  willing,  and  I  engaged 
at  once  as  her  assistant. 

The  government  society  paid  her  201.  a-year  :  she 
was  obliged  to  teach  ten  children  gratuitously ;  might 
receive  fifteen  pence  a  month,  (about  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar,)  for  each  often  scholars  more ;  and  then  she 
was  at  liberty,  according  to  the  regulations,  to  demand 
as  much  as  she  pleased  for  the  other  pupils.     The 
course  of  instruction,  as  required  by  the  society,  em- 
braced only  reading,  writing,  and  what  was  called 
ciphering,  though  I  think  improperly.     The  only 
books  used  were  a  spelling-book,  1' Instruction  de  la 
Jeunesse,  the  Catholic  New  Testament,  and  I'Histoire 
de  Canada.     When  these  had  been  read  through,  in 
regular  succession,  the  children  were  dismissed  as 
having  completed  their  education.     No  difficulty  is 
found  in  making  the  common  French  Canadians  con- 
tent with  such  an  amount  of  instruction  as  this;  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  often  very  hard  indeed  to  prevail  upon 
them  to  send  their  children  at<all,  for  they  say  it  take.s 
too  much  of  the  love  of  God  from  them  to  send  them 
to  school.     The  teacher  strictly  complied  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  society  in  whose  employment  she 
was,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  catechism  was  regu- 
larly taught  in  the  school,  as  much  from  choice  as 
from  submission  to  authority,  as  she  was  a  strict 
Catholic.     I  had  brought  with  me  the  little  bag  I 
have  before  mentioned,  in  which  I  had  so  long  kept 
the  clippings  of  the  thread  left  after  making  a  dress 
for  the  Superior.     Such  w^as  my  regard  for  it,  that  I 
continued  to  wear  it  constantly  round  my  neck,  and 


M 


^i 


;  i 


B'i;, 


1 1 


\    r 


;'pi 


!. ' ; 


I  ' 


i 


i  ; 


H. 


I       ii;* 


I'l' ' 


^     . 


BLACK    KUNNER7. 

to  feel  the  same  reverence  for  its  supposed  virtues  as 
before.  I  occasionally  had  the  toothache  during 
my  stay  at  St.  Denis,  and  then  always  relied  on  the 
influence  of  my  little  bag.  On  such  occasions  I 
would  say —     . 

"  By  the  virtue  of  this  bag,  may  I  be  delivered 
from  the  toothache;"  and  I  supposed  that  when  it 
ceased,  it  was  owing  to  that  ca\ise. 

While  engaged  in  this  manner,  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  man  who  soon  proposed  marriage : 
and  young  and  ignorant  of  the  world  as  I  was,  1 
heard  his  offers  with  favour.  On  consulting  with  my 
friend,  she  expressed  an  interest  for  me,  advised 
me  against  taking  such  a  step,  and  especially  as 
I  knew  little  about  the  man,  except  that  a  report 
was  circulated  unfavourable  to  his  character.  Un- 
fortunately, I  was  not  wise  enough  to  listen  to  her 
advice,  and  hastily  married.  In  a  few  weeks,  I  had 
occasion  to  repent  of  the  step  I  had  taken,  as  the  re- 
port proved  true — a  report  which  I  thought  justified, 
and  indeed  required,  our  separation.  After  I  had 
been  in  St.  Denis  about  three  months,  finding  my- 
self thus  situated,  and  not  knowing  what  else  to  do, 
I  determined  to  return  to  the  Convent,  and  pursue 
my  former  intention  of  becoming  a  Black  nun,  could 
I  gain  admittance.  Knowing  the  many  inquiries 
that  the  Superior  would  make  relative  to  me,  during 
my  absence  before  leaving  St.  Denis,  I  agreed  with 
the  lady  with  whom  I  had  been  associated  as  a 
teacher,  (when  she  went  to  Montreal,  which  she  did 
very  frequently.)  to  say  to  the  Lady  Superior  that  I 


BLACK    NUNNERT. 


37 


had  been  under  her  protection  during  my  absence, 
which  would  satisfy  her,  and  stop  further  inquiry ;  as 
I  was  sensible,  that,  should  they  know  I  had  been 
married,  I  should  not  gain  admittance. 

I  soon  returned  to  Montreal,  and  on  reaching  the 
city,  I  visited  the  Seminary,  and  in  another  interview 
with  the  Superior  of  it,  communicated  my  wish,  and 
desired  him  to  procure  my  re-admission  as  a  novice. 
Little  delay  occurred. 

After  leaving  me  for  a  short  time,  he  returned,  and 
told  me  that  the  Superior  of  the  "Convent  had  con- 
sented, and  I  was  soon  introduced  into  her  presences 
She  blamed  me  for  my  conduct  in  leaving  the  nun- 
nery, but  told  me  that  I  ought  to  be  ever  grateful 
to  my  guardian  angel  for  taking  care  of  me,  and 
bringing  me  in  safety  back  to  that  retreat.  I  re- 
quested that  I  might  be  secured  against  the  re- 
proaches and  ridicule  of  all  the  novices  and  nuns, 
which  I  thought  some  might  be  disposed  to  cast 
upon  me  unless  prohibited  by  the  Superior ;  and  this 
she  promised  me.  The  money  usually  required 
for  the  admission  of  novices  had  not  been  expected 
from  me.  I  had  been  admitted  the  first  time  with- 
out any  such  requisition  ;  but  now  I  chose  to  pay  it 
for  my  re-admission.  I  knew  that  she  was  able  to 
dispense  with  such  a  demand  as  well  in  this  as  the 
former  case,  and  she  knew  that  I  was  not  in  posses- 
sion of  any  thing  like  the  sum  she  required. 

But  I  was  bent  on  paying  to  the  Nunnery,  and 
accustomed  to  receive  the  doctrine  often  repealed  lo 
me  before  that  time,  that  when  the  advantage  of  the 
4 


W 


( 


I 


r  1 

h 


(ill 


) 


I.     .   ! 


Mt    1 


-;  ( 


.k    1| 


i' 


'i^\4^ 


\i 


i  «i  . 


i  'J 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 

church  was  consuhed,  the  steps  taken  were  justifi- 
able, let  thorn  be  what  they  would,  I  therefore  re- 
solved to  obtain  money  on  false  pretences,  confident 
that  if  all  were  known,  I  should  be  far  from  disw 
pleasing  the  Superior.  I  went  to  the  brigade  ma- 
jor, and  asked  him  to  give  me  the  money  payable 
10  my  mother  from  her  pension,  which  amounted 
to  about  thirty  dollars,  and  without  questioning 
my  authority  to  receive  it  in  her  name,  he  gave 
.  me  it. 

From  several  of  her  friends  1  obtained  small  sums 
under  the  name  of  loans,  so  that  altogether  I  had 
soon  raised  a  number  of  pounds,  with  which  I  has- 
tened to  the  nunnery,  and  deposited  a  part  in  the 
hands  of  the  Superior.  She  received  the  money 
with  evident  satisfaction,  though  she  must  havo 
known  that  I  could  not  have  obtained  it  honestly ; 
and  I  was  at  once  re-admitted  as  a  novice. 

Much  to  my  gratification,  not  a  word  fell  frora 
the  lips  of  any  of  my  old  associates  in  relation  to 
my  unceremonious  departure,  nor  my  voluntary  re- 
turn. The  Superior's  orders,  I  had  not  a  doubt,  had 
been  explicitly  laid  down,  and  they  certainly  were 
carefully  obeyed,  for  I  never  heard  an  allusion  made 
to  that  subject  during  my  subsequent  stay  in  the 
Convent,  except  that,  when  alone,  the  Superior  would 
herself  sometimes  say  a  little  about  it. 

There  were  numbers  of  young  ladies  who  enter- 
ed awhile  as  novices,  and  became  weary,  or  dis- 
gusted  with  some  things  they  observed,  and  remained 
tut  a  short  time.     One  of  my  cousins,  who  lived 


at  Li 
the  I 
such 


against 
suppos( 
any  pri 

This 

missed  ; 

from  th( 

It  haj 

lishBih 

H-rapped 

store  in 

termined 
ed,  whic 
learnt  in 
the  secoi 

Jesus  was 
It  hap 

paper,  ar 

was  condi 
Great 

^ho  convi 


BLACK   NVNNERT* 


99 


at  Lachine,  named  Reed,  spent  about  a  fortnight  in 
the  Convent  with  me.  She^  however,  conceived 
such  an  antipathy  against  the  priests,  that  she  used 
expressions  which  offended  the  Superior. 

The  first  day  she  attended  mass,  while  at  dinner 
with  us  in  full  community,  she  said  before  us  all: 
"  What  a  rascal  that  priest  was,  to  preach  against 
his  best  friend!" 

All  stared  at  such  an  unusual  exclamation,  and 
some  one  inquired  what  she  meant. 

"I  say,"  she  continued,  "he  has  been  preaching 
against  him  who  gives  him  his  bread.  Do  you 
suppose  that  if  there  were  no  devil,  there  would  be 
any  priests  ?" 

This  bold  young  novice  was  immediately  dis- 
missed ;  and  in  the  afternoon  we  had  a  long  sermon 
from  the  Superior  on  the  subject. 

It  happened  that  I  one  day  got  a  leaf  of  an  Eng- 
lish Bible,  which  had  been  brought  into  the  Convent, 
wrapped  round  some  sewing  silk,  purchased  at  a 
store  in  the  city.  For  some  reason  or  other,  I  de- 
termined to  commit  to  memory  a  chapter  it  contain- 
ed, which  1  soon  did.  It  is  the  only  chapter  I  ever 
learnt  in  the  Bible,  and  I  can  now  repeat  it.  It  is 
the  second  of  St.  Matthew's  gospel,  *'  Now  when 
Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea,"  &c. 

It  happened  that  I  was  observed  reading  the 
paper,  and  when  the  nature  of  it  was  discovered,  1 
was  condemned  to  do  penance  for  my  offence. 

Great  dislike  to  the  Bible  was  shown  by  those 
who  conversed  with  rae  about  it,  and  several  have 


■Mi    ' 


ii.' 


mm 


i(     -s 


^-i  ' 


I?  s; 


■M 


>m 


ij 


40 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


h 


remarked  lo  me,  at  difTercnt  limes,  that  if  it  were 
not  for  that  book.  Catholics  would  never  be  led  lo 
renounce  their  awn  faith. 

I  heard  passages  read  from  the  Evangile,  relating, 
lo  the  death  of  Christ;  thi3  conversion  of  Paul;  a 
few  chapters  from  St.  Matthew,  and  perhaps  a  few 
others.  The  priests  would  also  sometimes  take  a 
verse  or  two,  and  preach  from  it.  I  read  St.  Peter's- 
Life,  but  only  in  the  book  called  the  "  Lives  of  the 
Saints."  He,  I  understand,  has  the  keys  of  heaven 
and  hell,  and  has  founded  our  church.  As  for  St. 
Paul,  I  remember,  as  I  was  taught  to  understand  it^ 
that  he  was  once  a  great  persecutor  of  the  Roman 
Catholics,  until  he  became  convicted,  and  confessed 
to  one  of  ihe  father  confessors,  I  don't  know  which. 
For  who  can  expect  to  be  forgiven  Avho  does  not 
become  a  Catholic,  and  confess? 


/  • 


Ru 


1 

clisti 

the] 

g-uih 

at  CO] 

in  ih 

while 
ied  in 

have 
On 
to  be 
eAtrei 
I  knej 
a  persd 
of  conj 
stale  ii 
the  pla< 
of  my 
would 
we;  ai 
I  was 
waitind 

o  r 

consoJat 


CHAPTER  V. 

Received  Conjirmation— Painful  Feelings— Sptdrntn  qf  iil- 
structions  received  on  the  Subject, 

The  day  on  which  I  received  confirmation  was  a 
distressing  one  to  me.  I  believed  the  doctrine  of 
the  Roman  Catholics,  and  according  to  them  I  was 
guilty  of  three  mortal  sins ;  concealing  something 
at  confession,  sacrilege,  in  putting  the  body  of  Christ 
in  the  sacrament  under  my  feet,  and  receiving  it 
while  not  in  a  state  of  grace :  and  now,  I  had  been 
led  into  all  those  sins  in  consequence  of  my  mar- 
riage, which  I  never  had  acknowledged,  as  it  would 
have  cut  me  off  from  being  admitted  as  a  nun. 

On  the  day,  therefore,  when  I  went  to  the  church 
to  be  confirmed,  with  a  number  of  others,  I  suflTered 
extremely  from  the  reproaches  of  my  conscience. 
I  knew,  at  least  I  believed,  as  I  had  o*^  .a  told,  that 
a  person  who  had  been  anointed  with  the  holy  oil 
of  confirmation  on  the  forehead,  and  dying  in  tho 
slate  in  which  I  was,  would  go  down  to  hell,  and  in 
the  place  where  the  oil  had  been  rubbed,  the  names 
of  my  sins  would  blaze  out  on  my  forehead ;  these 
would  be  a  sign  by  which  the  devils  would  know 
me ;  and  they  would  torment  me  the  worse  for  them. 
I  was  thinking  of  all  this,  while  I  sat  in  the  pew. 
waiting  to  receive  the  oil.  I  felt,  however,  some 
consolation,  as  I  often  did  afterward  when  my  sins 


[;; 


•      ;    I 


5  :. 


» 


■  1 


h  i 


1 ,  .  ■  ■ 


rvi-'H:;; 


!  1  V 


i'f 


I 


■:  ii'  ill 


■•  /' 


h) 


III 


n 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


came  to  mind;  and  this  consolation  I  derived  from 
another  doctrine  of  the  same  church :  viz.  that  a 
bishop  could  absolve  me  from  all  these  sins  any 
minute  before  my  death ;  and  I  intended  to  confess 
them  all  to  a  bishop  before  leaving  the  world.  At 
length,  the  moment  for  administering  the  "  sacra- 
ment" arrived,  and  a  bell  was  rung.  Those  who 
had  come  to  be  confirmed  had  brought  tickets 
from  their  confessors,  and  these  were  thrown  into  a 
hat,  carried  around  by  a  priest,  who  in  turn  handed 
each  to  the  bishop,  by  which  he  learnt  the  name  of 
each  of  us,  and  applied  a  little  of  the  oil  to  our  fore- 
heads. This  was  immediately  rubbed  ofT  by  a 
priest  with  a  bit  of  cloth,  quite  roughly. 

I  went  home  with  some  qualms  of  conscience, 
and  often  thought  with  dread  of  the  following  tale, 
which  I  have  heard  told  to  illustrate  the  sinfulness 
of  conduct  like  mine. 

A  priest  was  once  travelling,  when,  just  as  he  v.*as 
passing  by  a  house,  his  horse  fell  on  his  knees, 
and  would  not  rise.  His  rider  dismounted,  and 
went  in  to  learn  the  cause  of  so  extraordinary  an 
occurrence.  He  found  there  a  woman  near  death, 
to  whom  a  priest  was  trying  to  administer  the  sa- 
crament,  But  without  success ;  for  every  time  she 
attempted  to  swallow  it,  it  was  thrown  back  out  of 
her  mouth  into  the  chalice.  He  perceived  it  was 
owing  to  unconfessed  sin,  and  took  away  the  holy 
wafer  from  her:  on  which  his  horse  rose  from  his 
knees,  and  he  pursued  his  journey. 

I  often  remembered  also  that  I  had  been  told,  that 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


43 


we  shall  have  as  many  devils  biting  us,  if  we  go  to 
hell,  as  \vc  have  unconfessed  sms  on  ouy  con- 
sciences. 

I  was  required  to  devote  myself  for  about  a  year, 
to  the  study  of  the  prayers  and  the  practice  of  the 
ceremonies  necessary  on  the  reception  of  a  nun. 
This  I  found  a  very  tedious  duty ;  but  as  I  was  re- 
leased in  a  great  degree  from  the  daily  labours 
usually  demanded  of  novices,  I  felt  little  disposition 
to  complain. 


)  D 


/  ,'■    ! 


1 


i;, 


!'■)  i» 


I, 


!■!! 


M 


Is  ••  i'l! 


I  h  I 


■    I 

■;  t 


(  .. 


n  ■ 

,  i  i 

'  i  j '! 


t  i  >■ 


\ 


CHAPTER  VL 


u 


Taking  tht  Veil— Interview  afterward  with  the  Superiat^ 
Surprise  and  horror  at  her  Disclomres—i^aolution  to 
Submit. 

I  WAS  introduced  into  the  Superior's  room  on  the 
evening  preceding  the  day  on  which  I  was  to  take 
the  veil,  to  have  an  interview  with  the  Bishop.  The 
Superior  was  present,  and  the  interview  lasted  about 
half  an  hour.  The  Bishop  on  this  as  on  other  oc- 
casions appeared  to  me  habitually  rough  in  his 
manners.  His  address  was  by  no  means  prepos- 
sessing. 

Before  I  took  the  veil,  I  was  ornamented  for  the 
ceremony,  and  was  clothed  in  a  rich  dress  belong- 
ing to  the  Convent,  which  was  used  on  such  oc- 
casions ;  and  placed  not  far  from  the  altar  in  the 
chapel,  in  the  view  of  a  number  of  spectators  who 
had  assembled,  perhaps  about  forty.  Taking  the 
veil  is  an  affair  which  occurs  so  frequently  in  Mon- 
treal, that  it  has  long  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  a 
novelty;  and,  although  notice  had  been  given  in  the 
French  parish  church  as  usual,  only  a  small  audi- 
ence had  assembled,  as  I  have  mentioned. 

Being  well  prepared  with  a  long  training,  and 
frequent  rehearsals,  for  what  I  was  to  perform,  I 
stood  waiting  in  my  large  flowing  dress  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Bishop.  He  soon  presented  him- 
Belf,  entering  by  the  door  behind  the  altar;  I  then 


BLACK    NUNNERY, 


45 


threw  myself  at  his  feet,  and  asked  him  to  confer 
upon  me  the  veil.  He  expressed  his  consent,  and 
threw  it  over  my  head,  saying,  "  Receive  the  veil, 
O  thou  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ ;"  and  then  turning 
to  the  Superior,  I  threw  myself  prostrate  at  her  feet, 
according  to  my  instructions,  repeating  what  I  had 
before  done  at  rehearsals,  and  made  a  movement  as 
if  to  kiss  her  feet.  This  she  prevented,  or  ap- 
peared to  prevent,  catching  me  by  a  sudden  motion 
of  her  hand,  and  granted  my  request.  I  then 
kneeled  before  the  Holy  Sacrament,  that  is,  a  very 
large  round  wafer  held  by  the  Bi&hop  between  his 
fore-finger  and  thumb,  and  made  my  vows. 

This  wafer  I  had  been  taught  to  regard  with  the 
utmost  veneration,  as  the  real  body  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  presence  of  which  made  the  vows  uttered  before 
it  binding  in  the  most  solemn  manner. 

After  taking  the  vows,  I  proceeded  to  a  small 
apartment  behind  the  altar,  accompanied  by  four 
nuns,  where  was  a  coffin  prepared,  with  my  nun 
name  engraven  upon  it: 

"  Saint  Eustace." 

My  companions  lifted  it  by  four  handles  attached 
to  it,  while  I  threw  off  my  dress,  and  put  on  that  of 
a  nun  of  Soeur  Bourgeoise;  and  then  we  all  re- 
turned to  the  chapel.  I  proceeded  first,  and  was- 
followed  by  the  four  nuns ;  the  Bishop  naming  a 
number  of  worldly  pleasures  in  rapid  succession,  in 
reply  to  which  I  as  rapidly  repeated — "  Je  rc- 
nonce,  je  renonce,  j.e  renonce" — [1  renounce,  I  re- 
nounce, I  renounce.] 


w 


I 


, 


"ill 


'i! 


f 


'?!« 


I.. 


>;i 


•  t 


.1 


••     ■(■"     .  -.■ill  M 


m 


1  i 


0 


If  ': 


1. 


i;r 


..  I* 


I 


a  , 
■  I 


46 


BLACK  NUNNKKY. 


The  cofTin  was  then  placed  in  iront  of  the  altar, 
and  I  advanced  to  lay  myself  in  it.     This  coffin 


be  d( 


out- 


>sited,  after  the  ceremony,  in 
liouso,  to  be  preserved  until  my  death,  when  it  was 
to  receive  my  corpse.    There  were  reflections  which 
I  naturally  made  at  that  time,  but  I  stepped  in,  ex- 
tended myself,  and  lay  still.     A  pillow  had  been 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  coffin,  to  support  my  head 
in  a  comfortable  position.      A  large,  thick  black 
cloth  was  then  spread  over  me,  and  the  chanting  of 
Latin  hymns  immediately  commenced.  My  thoughts 
were  not  the  most  pleasing  during  the  time  I  lay  in 
that  situation.      The  pall,  or  Drap  Mortel,  as  the 
cloth  is  called,  had  a  strong  smell  of  incense,  which 
M'as  always  disagreeable  to  me,  and  then  proved 
almost  siifTocating.     I  recollected  also  a  story  I  had 
heard  of  a  novice,  who,  in  taking  the  veil,  lay  down 
in  her  coffin  like  mo,  and  Avas  covered  in  the  same 
manner,  but  on  the  removal  of  the  covering  was 
found  dead. 

When  I  was  uncovered,  I  rose,  stepped  out  of 
my  coffin,  and  kneeled.     The  Bishop  then  address- 
ed these  words  to  the  Superior,  "  Take  care  and 
keep  pure  and  spotless  this  young  virgin,  whom 
Christ  has  consecrated  to  himself  this  day."     After 
which  the  music  commenced,  and  here  the  whole 
was  finished.     I  then  proceeded  from  the  chapel, 
and  returned  to  the  Superior's  room,  followed  by 
the  other  nuns,  who  walked  two  by  two,  in  their 
customary  manner,  with  their  hands  folded  on  their 
breasts,  and  their  eyes  cast  down  upon  the  floor. 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


IT 


The  nun  who  was  to  be  my  companion  in  future, 
then  walked  at  the  end  of  the  procession.  On 
reaching  the  Superior's  door,  they  all  left  me,  and 
I  entered  alone,  and  found  her  with  the  Bishop  and 
two  priests. 

The  Superior  now  informed  me,  that  having  taken 
the  black  veil,  it  only  remained  that  I  should  swear 
the  three  oaths  customaty  on  becoming  a  nun  ;  and 
that  some  explanations  would  be  necessary  from 
her.     I  was  now,  she  told  me,  to  have  access  to 
every  part  of  the  edifice,  even  to  the  cellar,  where 
two  of  the  sisters  were  imprisoned  for  causes  which 
she  did  not  mention.     I  must  be  informed,  that  one 
of  my  great  duties  was,  to  obey  the  priests  in  all 
things ;  and  this  I  soon  learnt,  to  my  utter  astonish- 
ment and  horror,  was  to   live  in  the  practice  of 
criminal  intercourse  witli  them.     I  expressed  some 
of  the  feelings  which  this  announcement  excited  in 
me,  which  came  upon  me  like  a  flash  of  lightning, 
but  the  only  effect  was  to  set  her  arguing  with  me, 
in  favour  of  the  crime,  representing  it  as  a  virtue 
acceptable  to  God,  and  honourable  to  me.     The 
priests,  she  said,  were  not  situated  like  other  men, 
being  forbidden  to  marry  ;  while  they  lived  seclu- 
ded, laborious,  and  self-denying  lives  for  our  salva- 
tion.    They  might,  indeed,  be  considered  our  sa- 
viours, as  without  their  services  v,*e  could  not  obtain 
the  pardon  of  sin,  and  must  go  to  hell.     Now,  it 
was  our  solemn  duty,  on  withdrawing  from  the 
world,  to  consecrate  our  lives  to  religion,  to  practise 
every  species  of  self-denial.     We  could  not  become 


hi 


<i   I 


'  < 


1! 


f 


1'' 


'; 


48 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


»    ; 


i       ii 


too  humble,  nor  mortify  our  feelings  too  far ;  this 
was  to  be  done  by  opposing  them,  and  acting  con 
trary  to  them ;  and  what  she  proposed  was,  therefore, 
pleasing  in  the  sigiit  of  God.  I  now  felt  how  fool- 
ish I  had  been  to  place  myself  in  the  power  of  such 
persons  as  were  around  me. 

From  what  she  said  I  could  draw  no  other  con- 
clusion, but  that  I  was  required  to  act  like  the  most 
abandoned  of  beings,  and  that  all  my  future  associ- 
ates were  habitually  guilty  of  the  most  heinous  and 
detestable  crimes.  When  I  repeated  my  expressions 
of  surprise  and  horror,  she  told  me  that  such  feel- 
ings were  very  common  at  first,  and  that  many 
other  nuns  had  expressed  themselves  as  I  did,  who 
had  long  since  changed  their  minds.  She  even  said, 
that  on  her  entrance  into  the  nunnery,  she  had  felt 
like  me. 

Doubts,  she  declared,  were  among  our  greatest 
enemies.  They  would  lead  us  to  question  every 
point  of  duty,  and  induce  us  to  waver  at  every  step. 
They  arose  only  from  remaining  imperfection,  and 
were  always  evidence  of  sin.  Our  only  w^ay  was 
to  dismiss  them  immediately,  repent,  and  confess 
them.  They  were  deadly  sins,  and  would  condemn 
us  to  hell,  if  we  should  die  without  confessing  them. 
Priests,  she  insisted,  could  not  sin.  It  was  a  thin<r 
impossible.  Every  thing  that  they  did,  and  wished, 
was  of  course  right.  She  hoped  I  would  see  the 
reasonableness  and  duty  of  the  oaths  I  was  to  take, 
and  be  faithful  to  them. 

She  gave  me  another  piece  of  information  which 


ch 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


49 


excited  other  feelings  in  me,  scarcely  less  dreadful. 
Infants  were  sometimes  born  in  the  convent :  but 
they  were  always  baptized  and  immediately  stran- 
gled I  This  secured  their  everlasting  happiness ; 
for  the  baptism  purified  them  from  all  sinfulness, 
and  being  sent  out  of  the  world  before  they  had 
time  to  do  any  thing  wrong,  they  were  at  once  ad- 
mitted into  heaven.  How  happy,  she  exclaimed, 
are  those  who  secure  immortal  happiness  to  such 
little  beings  !  Their  little  souls  would  thank  those 
who  kill  their  bodies,  if  they  had  it  in  their  power ! 

Into  what  a  place  and  among  what  society  had  I 
been  admitted !  How  differently  did  a  Convent  now 
appear  from  what  I  had  supposed  it  to  be !  The 
holy  women  I  had  always  fancied  the  nuns  to  be, 
the  venerable  Lady  Superior,  what  were  they  ? 
And  the  priests  of  the  Seminary  adjoining,  some  of 
whom  indeed  I  had  had  reason  to  think  were  base 
and  profligate  men,  what  were  they  all  ?  I  now 
learnt  they  were  often  admitted  into  the  nunnery, 
and  allowed  to  indulge  in  the  greatest  crimes,  which 
they  and  others  called  virtues. 

After  having  listened  for  some  time  to  the  Supe- 
rior alone,  a  number  of  the  nuns  w^ere  admitted, 
and  took  a  free  part  in  the  conversation.  They 
concurred  in  every  thing  which  she  had  told  me, 
and  repeated,  without  any  signs  of  shame  or  com- 
punction, things  which  criminated  themselves.  I 
must  acknowledge  the  truth,  and  declare  that  all 
this  had  an  cflTect  upon  my  mind.  I  questioned 
whether  I  might  not  be  in  the  wrong,  and  fell  as  if 


m 


iif 


U 


■  ri! 


:■! 


.  ■  1.^- 


I.  1  > 


J ' 


^ 


till 


v 
t 


H 


50 


BLACK  NUNNERV. 


'■'  J 


U 


their  reasoning  might  have  some  just  foundation. 
I  had  been  several  years  under  the  tuition  of  Cath- 
olics, and  was  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures,  and  ur- 
accustomed  to  the  society,  example,  and  conversa- 
tion of  Protestants ;  had  not  heard  any  appeal  to 
the  Bible  as  authority,  but  had  been  taught,  both  by 
precept  and  example,  to  receive  as  truth  every  thing 
said  by  the  priests.    I  had  not  heard  their  authority 
questioned,  nor  any  thing  said  of  any  other  standard 
of  faith  but  their  declarations.     I  had  long  been  fa- 
miliar with  the  corrupt  and  licentious  expressions 
which  some  of  them  use  at  confessions,  and  believed 
that  other  women  were  also.     I  had  no  standard  of 
duty  to  refer  to,  and  no  judgment  of  my  own  w^hich 
I  knew  how  to  use,  or  thought  of  using. 

All  around  me  insisted  that  my  doubts  proved 
only  my  own  ignorance  and  sinfulness ;  that  they 
knew  by  experience  they  Vv'^ould  soon  give  place  to 
true  knowledge,  and  an  advance  in  religion ;  and  I 
felt  something  like  indecision. 

Still,  there  was  so  much  that  disgusted  me  in  the 
discovery  I  had  now  made,  of  the  debased  charac- 
ters around  me,  that  I  would  most  gladly  have  es- 
caped from  the  nunnery,  and  never  returned.  But 
that  was  a  thing  not  to  be  thought  of  I  was  in 
their  power,  and  this  I  deeply  felt,  while  I  thought 
there  was  not  one  among  the  whole  number  of  nuns 
to  whom  I  could  look  for  kindness.  There  was 
one,  however,  who  began  to  speak  to  me  at  length 
in  atone  that  gained  something  of  my  confidence,— 
the  nun  whom  I  have  mentioned  before  as  distin- 


the 
the  ri 
descn 
whfc 
give 
took  ( 
which 
At 
nuns 
same 
the  m 
were  J 
for  a 
other 


he 
ac- 
es- 

But 
in 
ght 

Huns 
was 
igth 

e,— 
stin- 


BLACK  NUI«NERT. 


51 


guished  by  her  oddity,  Jane  Ray,  who  made  us  so 
much  amusement  when  I  was  a  novice.    Ahhough, 
as  I  have  remarked,  there  was  nothing  in  her  face, 
form,  or  manners,  to  give  me  any  pleasure,  she  ad- 
dressed me  with  apparent  friendlineoS  ;  and  whilo 
she  seemed  to  concur  with  some  things  spoken  by 
them,  took  an  opportunity  to  whisper  a  few  words 
in  my  ear,  unheard  by  them,  intimating  that  I  had 
better  comply  with  every  thing  the  Superior  desired, 
if  I  would  save  my  life.     I  was  somewhat  alarmed 
before,  but  I  now  became  much  more  so,  and  deter; 
mined  to  make  no  further  resistance.    The  Superior 
then  made  me  repeat  the  three  oaths  ;  and  when  I 
had  sworn  them,  I  was  shown  into  one  of  the  com- 
munity rooms,  and  remained  some  time  with  the 
iiuns,  who  were  released  from  their  usual  employ- 
ments, and  enjoying  a  recreation  day,  on  account  of 
the  admission  of  a  new  sister.     My  feelings  during 
the  remainder  of  that  day,  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
describe  ;  but  pass  on  to  mention  the  ceremonies 
which  took  place  at  dinner.     This  description  may 
give  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  we  always 
took  our  meals,  although  there  were  some  points  in 
which  the  breakfast  and  supper  were  different. 

At  1 1  o^clock  the  bell  rung  for  dinner,  and  the 
nuns  all  took  their  places  in  a  double  row,  in  the 
same  order  as  that  in  which  they  left  the  chapel  in 
the  morning,  except  that  my  companion  and  myself 
were  stationed  at  the  end  of  the  line.  Standing  thus 
for  a  moment,  with  our  hands  placed  one  on  the 
other  over  the  breast,  and  hidden  in  our  large  cuffs, 


li 


1 


.  i  I'll  i 

i  if  ! 


I 


r    ■ 

1! 


-tl  ; 


11 


^m\ 


:''  W 


03 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


I   " 


v» 


li 


with  our  heads  bent  forward,  and  eyes  fixed  on  the 
floor ;  an  old  nun  who  stood  at  the  door,  clapped 
her  hands  as  a  signal  for  us  to  proceed,  and  the 
procession  moved  on,  while  we  all  commenced  the 
repetition  of  litanies.  We  walked  on  in  this  order, 
repeating  all  the  way,  until  we  reached  the  door  of 
the  dining-room,  where  we  were  divided  into  two 
lines ;  those  on  the  right  passing  down  one  side  of 
the  long  table,  and  those  on  the  left  the  other,  till  all 
were  in,  and  each  stopped  in  her  place.  The  plates 
were  all  ranged,  each  with  a  knife,  fork,  and  spoon, 
rolled  up  in  a  napkin,  and  tied  round  with  a  linen 
band  marked  with  the  o-wner's  name.  My  own 
plate,  knife,  fork,  &c.,  were  prepared  like  the  rest, 
and  on  the  band  around  them  I  found  my  new  name 
written; — ••  Saint  Eustace." 

There  we  stood  tiPf  all  had  concluded  the  litany;, 
when  the  old  nun;  who  had  taken  her  place  at  the 
head  of  the  table  next  the  door,  said  the  prayer  be-^ 
fore  meat,  beginning  •♦  Benedicite,"  and  we  sat  dov;n, 
I  do  not  remember  of  what  our  dinner  consisted^ 
but  we  usually  had  soup  and  some  plain  dish  of 
meat,  the  remains  of  which    were   occasionally 
served  up  at  supper  as  a  fricassee.     One  of  the  nuns 
who  had  been  appointed  to  read  that  day,  rose  and 
began  a  lecture  from  a  book  put  into  her  hands  by 
the  Superior,  while  the  rest  of  us  ate  in  perfect  si- 
lence.    The  nun  who  reads  during  dinner,  stay* 
afterward   to  dine.     As  fast  as  we  finished  our 
meals,  each  rolled  up  her  knife,  fork,  and  spoon 
in  her  napkin,  and  bound  them  together  with  the 


i 


BLACK    NUNNEHy. 


53 


band,  and  set  with  hands  folded.  The  old  nun 
then  said  a  short  prayer,  rose,  stepped  a  little  aside, 
clapped  her  hands,  and  we  marched  towards  the 
door,  bowing  as  we  passed  before  a  little  chapel 
or  glass  box,  containing  a  wax  image  of  the  infant 
Jesus. 

Nothing  important  occurred  until  late  in  the  af- 
ternoon, when,  as  I  was  sitting  in  the  community- 
room.  Father  Dufresnc  called  me  out,  saying  he 
wished  to  speak  with  me.  I  feared  what  was  his 
intention ;  but  I  dared  not  disobey.  In  a  private 
apartment,  he  treated  me  in  a  brutal  manner ;  and 
from  two  other  priests,  I  afterward  received  similar 
usage  that  evening.  Father  Dufresne  afterward 
appeared  again ;  and  I  was  compelled  to  remain  in 
company  with  him  until  morning. 

I  am  assured  that  the  conduct  of  priests  in  our 
Convent  has  never  been  exposed,  and  is  not  imagined 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  This  induces 
me  to  say  what  I  do,  notwithstanding  the  strong 
reasons  I  have  to  let  it  remain  unknown.  Still,  I 
cannot  force  myself  to  speak  on  sUv^h  subjects  ex- 
cept in  the  most  brief  manner. 

5* 


'  1 1    - 


( : 


((' 


•  .     Hi.  I 


li  ' 


(»■  " 


il)- 


il 


.  I 


CHAPTER  VII. 


if'  ' 


li 


Daily  Certmonies^Jane  Ray  among  the  Nuub, 

On  Thursday  morning,  the  bell  rung  at  half-past 
six  to  awaken  us.  The  old  nun  who  was  actnig  as 
night-watch  immediately  spoke  aloud : 

"  Voici  le  Seigneur  qui  vient."  (Behold  the  Lord 
Cometh.)     The  nuns  all  responded : 

"Allons-y  devant  lui."     (Let  us  go  and  meet 

him.) 

We  then  rose  immediately,  and  dressed  as  expe- 
ditiously as  possible,  stepping  into  the  passage-way 
at  the  foot  of  our  beds  as  soon  as  we  were  ready, 
and  taking  places  each  beside  her  opposite  com- 
panion. Thus  we  were  soon  drawn  up  in  a  double 
row  the  whole  length  of  the  room,  with  our  hands 
folded  across  our  breasts,  and  concealed  in  the 
broad  cuffs  of  our  sleeves.  Not  a  word  was  uttered. 
When  the  signal  was  given,  we  all  proceeded  to  the 
community-room,  which  is  spacious,  and  took  our 
places  in  rows  facing  the  entrance,  near  which  the 
Superior  was  seated  in  a  vergiere,  or  large  chair. 

We  first  repeated,  •♦  Au  nom  du  Pere,  du  Fils,  et 
du  Saint  Esprit— Ainsi  soit  il."  (In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost— Amen.) 

We  then  kneeled  and  kissed  the  floor ;  then,  still 
on  our  knees,  we  said  a  very  long  prayer,  begin- 
ing:  EHvin  Jesus,  Sauveur  de  mon  toe,  (Divine 


If 


X 


:'  k'  V 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


65 


Jesus,  Saviour  of  my  soul.)  Then  came  the  Lord's 
prayer,  three  Hail  Marys,  four  creeds,  and  five 
confessions,  (confesse  a  Dieu.) 

Next  we  repeated  the  ten  commandments.  Then  we 
repeated  the  Acts  of  Faith,  and  a  prayer  to  the  Vir- 
gin in  Latin,  (which,  like  every  thing  else  in  Lat- 
in, I  never  understood  a  word  of)  Next  we  said 
the  litanies  of  the  holy  name  of  Jesus,  in  Latin, 
which  was  afterward  to  be  repeated  several  times 
in  the  course  of  the  day.  Then  came  the  prayer 
for  the  beginning  of  the  day ;  then  bending  down, 
we  commenced  the  Orison  Mental^  (or  Mental  Ori" 
son,)  which  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  half. 

This  exercise  was  considered  peculiarly  solemn. 
We  were  told  in  the  nunnery  that  a  certain  saint 
was  saved  by  the  use  of  it,  as  he  never  omitted  it. 
It  consists  of  several  parts :  First,  the  Superior 
read  to  us  a  chapter  from  a  book,  which  occupied 
five  minutes.  Then  profound  silence  prevailed  for 
fifteen  minutes,  during  which  we  were  meditating 
upon  it.  Then  she  read  another  chapter  of  equal 
length,  on  a  different  subject,  and  we  meditated  upon 
that  another  quarter  of  an  hour ;  and  after  a  third 
reading  and  meditation,  we  finished  the  exercise 
with  a  prayer,  called  an  act  of  contrition,  in  w^hich 
we  asked  forgiveness  for  the  sins  committed  during 
the  Orison. 

During  this  hour  and  a  half  I  became  very  weary, 
having  before  been  kneeling  for  some  time,  and  hav- 
ing then  to  sit  in  another  position  more  uncomfbrt. 
uble,  with  my  feet  under  me,  my  hands  clasped^ 


;t 


.4K 


Hi 


:'f^f 


[   I 


56 


BLACK    KUNNERY. 


|V< 


( 


i, 
I 


and  my  body  bent  humbly  forward,  with  my  head 
bowed  down. 

When  the  Orison  was  over,  we  all  rose  to  the 
upright  kneeling  posture,  and  repeated  several  pray- 
ers, and  the  litanies  of  the  providences,  "provi- 
dence de  Dieu,"  &c. ;  then  followed  a  number  of 
Latin  prayers,  which  we  repeated  on  the  way  to 
mass,  for  in  the  nunnery  we  had  mass  daily. 

When  mass  was  over  we  proceeded  in  our  usual 
order  to  the  eatingroom  to  breakfast,  practising  the 
same  forms  which  I  have  described  at  dinner.  Hav- 
ing made  our  meal  in  silence,  we  repeated  the  litanies 
of  the  "  holy  name  of  Jesus"  as  we  proceeded  to  the 
community-room ;  and  such  as  had  not  finished 
them  on  their  arrival,  threw  themselves  upon  their 
knees,  and  remained  there  until  they  had  gone 
through  with  them,  and  then  kissing  the  floor,  rose 


agam. 


At  nine  o'clock  commenced  the  lecture,  which 
was  read  by  a  nun  appointed  to  perform  that  duty 
that  day ;  all  the  rest  of  us  in  the  room  being  en- 
gaged in  work. 

The  nuns  were  at  this  time  distributed  in  differ- 
ent community-rooms,  at  different  kinds  of  work,  and 
in  each  were  listening  to  a  lecture.  This  exercise 
continued  until  ten  o'clock,  when  the  recreation-bell 
rang.  We  still  continued  our  work,  but  the  nuns 
began  to  converse  with  each  other,  on  subjects  per- 
mitted by  tl>e  rules,  in  the  hearing  of  the  old  nuns, 
one  of  whom  was  seated  in  each  of  the  groups. 

At  half-past  ten  the  silence-bell  rang,  and  then 


BLACK    NFNNERT. 


57 


conversation  instantly  ceased,  and  the  recitation  of 
some  Latin  prayers  commenced,  which  continued 
half  an  hour. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  dinner-bell  rang,  and  then 
we  proceeded  to  the  dining-room,  and  went  through 
the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  preceding  day.  We 
proceeded  two  by  two.  The  old  nun  who  had  the 
command  of  us,  clapped  her  hands  as  the  first  cou- 
ple reached  the  door,  when  we  stopped.  The  first 
two  dipped  their  fingers  into  the  font,  touched  the 
holy  water  to  the  breast,  forehead,  and  each  side, 
thus  forming  a  cross,  said,  "  In  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  Amen,"  and  then 
walked  on  to  the  dining-room,  repeating  the  litanies. 
The  rest  followed  their  example.  On  reaching  the 
door  the  couples  divided,  and  the  two  rows  of  nuns 
marching  up,  stopped  and  faced  the  table  against 
their  plates.  There  we  stood,  repeating  the  close  of 
the  litany  aloud.     The  old  nun  then  pronounced 

*'  Benedicite," 
and  we  sat  down.  One  of  our  number  began  to  read 
a  lecture,  which  continued  during  the  whole  meal: : 
Bhe  stays  to  eat  after  the  rest  have  retired.  When 
we  had  dined,  each  of  us  folded  up  her  napkin, 
and  again  folded  her  hands.  The  old  nun  then 
repeated  a  short  prayer  in  French,  and  stepping 
aside  from  the  head  of  the  table,  let  us  pass  out  as 
we  came  in.  Each  of  us  bowed  in  passing  the  little 
chapel  near  the  door,  wnich  is  a  glass  case,  con- 
taining a  waxen  figure  of  the  infant  Jesus.  When 
we  reached  the  community-room  we  took  our  pla- 


•  ;i 


i  , 


»' 


I  (        i    i! 


!     (  t 


!     \ 


i;i 


Irl 


I'f 


'\  "^4  I 


r" 


58 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


ces  in  rows,  and  kneeled  upon  the  floor,  while  a  nun 
read  aloud,  "  Douleurs  de  n6tre  Sainte  Marie,"  (tho 
sorrows  of  our  holy  Mary.)  At  the  end  of  each 
verse  we  responded  "  Ave  Maria.'*  We  then  re- 
peated again  the  litanies  of  the  Providences,  and  the 

"Ben IS,  &c. 
Then  we  kissed  the  floor,  and  rising,  took  out 
work,  with  leave  to  converse  on  permitted  subjects ; 
this  is  what  is  called  recreation  till  one  o'clock. 
We  then  began  to  repeat  litanies,  one  at  a  time  in 
succession,  still  engaged  at  sewing,  for  an  hour. 

At  two  o'clock  commenced  the  afternoon  lectures, 
which  lasted  till  near  three.  At  that  hour  one  of 
the  nuns  stood  up  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and 
asked  each  of  us  a  question  out  of  the  catechism ; 
and  such  as  were  unable  to  answer  correctly,  were 
obliged  to  kneel  down,  until  that  exercise  was  con- 
cluded, upon,  as  many  dry  peas  as  there  were  ver- 
ses in  the  chapter  out  of  which  they  were  ques- 
tioned. This  seems  like  a  penance  of  no  great  im- 
portance; but  I  have  sometimes  kneeled  on  peas 
until  I  suflfered  great  inconvenience,  and  even  pain. 
It  soon  makes  one  feel  as  if  needles  were  running 
through  the  skin:  whoever  thinks  it  a  trifle,  had 
better  try  it. 

At  four  o'clock  recreation  commenced,  when  we 
were  allowed,  as  usual,  to  speak  to  each  other,  while 
at  work. 

At  half.past  four  v/e  began  to  repeat  prayers  in 
Latin,  while  we  worked,  and  concluded  about  five 
o'clock,  when  we  commenced  repeating  the  "prayers 


'  .1 .. 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


69 


foi  the  examination  of  conscience,"  the  "prayer  after 
confession,"  the  "  prayer  before  sacrament,"  and  tlie 
»•  prayer  after  sacrament."  Thus  we  continued  our 
work  until  dark,  when  we  laid  it  aside,  and  began 
to  go  over  the  same  prayers  which  we  had  repeated 
in  the  morning,  with  the  exception  of  the  orison 
mental ;  instead  of  that  long  exercise,  we  examined 
our  consciences,  to  determine  whether  we  had  per- 
formed the  resolution  we  had  made  in  the  morning ; 
and  such  as  had  kept  it,  repeated  an  "  acte  de  joie,'* 
or  expression  of  gratitude ;  while  such  as  had  not, 
said  an  "  acte  de  contrition." 

When  the  prayers  were  concluded,  any  nun  who 
had  been  disobedient  in  the  day,  km^lt  and  asked 
pardon  of  the  Superior  and  her  companions  "for  the 
scandal  she  had  caused  them ;"  and  then  requested 
the  Superior  to  give  her  a  penance  to  perform. 
"When  all  the  penances  had  been  imposed,  we  all 
proceeded  to  the  eating-room  to  supper,  repeating 
litanies  on  the  way. 

At  supper  the  ceremonies  were  the  same  as  at 
dinner,  except  that  there  was  no  lecture  read.  We 
ate  in  silence,  and  went  out  bowing  to  the  chapelle, 
and  repeating  litanies.  Returning  to  the  commu- 
nity-room which  we  had  left,  we  had  more  prayers 
to  repeat,  which  are  called  La  couronne,  (crown,) 
which  consists  of  the  following  parts: 

1st,  Four  Paters, 

2d,  Four  Ave  Marias, 

3d,  Four  Gloria  Patris, 

4lh,  Benis,  &c. 


i 


I 


'     1,1' 


Li|v,f 


J' 


t  I 


it     . 


'?'■    I 


■}{■■ 


■  i  ^  it" 


^( 


'  \ 


'♦ 


60 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


/I  »i 


At  the  close  of  these  we  kissed  the  floor ;  after 
which  we  had  recreation  till  half-past  eight  o'clock, 
being  allowed  to  converse  on  permitted  subjects,  but 
closely  watched,  and  not  allowed  to  sit  in  corners. 

At  half-past  eight  a  bell  was  rung,  and  a  chapter 
was  read  to  us,  in  a  book  of  meditations,  to  employ 
our  minds  upon  during  our  waking  hours  at  night. 
Standing  near  the  door,  we  dipped  our  fingers  in 
the  holy  water,  crossed  and  blessed  ourselves,  and 
proceeded  up  to  the  sleeping-room,  in  the  usual 
order,  two  by  two.  When  we  had  got  into  bed,  we 
repeated  a  prayer  beginning  with 

*'  Mon  Dieu,  je  vous  donne  mon  coeur," 
••  My  God,  I  give  you  my  heart ;" 
and  then  an  old  nun,  bringing  some  holy  water, 
sprinkled  it  on  our  beds  to  drive  away  the  devil, 
while  we  took  some  and  crossed  ourselves  again. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  bell  rung,  and  all  who  were 
awake  repeated  a  prayer,  called  the  oflrande ;  thoso 
who  were  asleep,  were  considered  as  excused. 

Afler  my  admission  among  the  nuns,  I  had  more 
opportunity  than  before,  to  observe  the  conduct  of 
mad  Jane  Ray.    She  behaved  quite  differently  from 
the  rest,  and  with  a  degree  of  levity  irreconcilable 
with  the  rules.     She  was,  as  I  have  described  her, 
a  large  woman,  with  nothing  beautiful  or  attractive 
in  her  face,  form,  or  manners;  careless  in  her  dress, 
and  of  a  restless  disposition,  which  prevented  her 
from  steadily  applying  herself  to  any  thing  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  kept  her  roving  about,  and  al- 
most perpetually  talking  to  somebody  or  other,     ft 


t 


I 


i 


M 


wou 

tion 

gam 

arcu 

noth 

omp] 

stud^ 

« 

from 
from 
some 
thin£ 
foun( 
novo 
levit 

• 

even 
ities 
punii 
repri 
I  see 
of  ch 
chos( 
dislil 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


61 


would  bo  very  diflicult  to  give  an  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  this  singular  woman ;  dressed  in  the  plain 
garments  of  the  nuns,  bound  by  the  same  vows,  and 
arcustomed  to  the  same  life,  resembling  them  \:\ 
nothing  else,  and  frequently  interrupting  all  their 
employments.     She  was  apparently  almost  always 
studying  or  pursuing  some  odd  fancy ;  now  rising 
from  sewing,  to  walk  up  and  down,  or  straying  in 
from  another  apartment,  looking  about,  addressing 
some  of  us,  and  passing  out  again,  or  saying  some- 
thing to  make  us  laugh,  in  periods  of  the  most  pro- 
found silence.     But  what  showed  thi  t  she  was  no 
novelty,  was  the  little  attention  paid  t j  her,  and  the 
levity  with  which  she  was  treated  by  the  dd  nuns ; 
even  the  Superior  every  day  passed  ove*  i .regular- 
ities in  this  singular  person,  which  ^'.e  would  \k.vQ 
punished  with  penances,  or  at  Ica^t  have  met  with 
reprimands,  in  any  other.    From  what  I  saw  of  her, 
I  soon  perceived  that  she  betrayed  two  distinct  traits 
of  character;  a  kind  disposition  to  v.  rivds  such  as  she 
chose  to  prefer,  and  a  pleasure  in  teasing  those  she 
disliked,  or  such  as  had  ofTended  her. 


i 

3^ 


•I  -  :.'• 


I'l 


a 


I 


I 


;|i. 


i  r 


'•,1 


■I  1 


t   < 


^   i 


I. 


11  • 
i\  ! 


d!ll] 


■ii 


H;' 


II: 


•Ill 


It  ! 


.1  ,. 


:fF' 


\  ^^ 


■il 


H     < 


<   > 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Description  of  Apartments  in  the  Black  Nunnery^  in  order.— 
1st  Floor— 'Zd  Flooi — The  Founder— Superior's  Manago- 
ment  with  the  Friends  of  Novices — Religious  Lics—Crimi' 
nality  of  concealing  Sins  at  Confession. 

I  WILL  now  give  from  memory,  a  general  de- 
scription of  the  interior  of  the  Convent  of  Black 
nuns,  except  the  few  apartments  which  I  never  saw. 
I  may  be  inaccurate  in  some  things,  as  the  apart- 
ments and  passages  of  that  spacious  building  are 
numerous  and  various ;  but  I  am  willing  to  risk  my 
credit  for  truth  and  sincerity  on  the  general  corres- 
pondence, between  my  description  and  things  as  they 
are.  And  this  would,  perhaps,  be  as  good  a  caso 
as  any  by  which  to  test  the  truth  of  my  statements, 
were  it  possible  to  obtain  access  to  the  interior.  It 
is  well  known,  that  none  but  veiled  nuns,  the  bishop, 
and  priests,  are  ever  admitted;  and,  of  course,  that  I 
cannot  have  seen  what  I  profess  to  describe,  if  I 
have  not  been  a  Black  nun.*  The  priests  who 
read  this  book,  will  acknowledge  to  themselves  the 
truth  of  my  description  ;  but  will,  of  course,  deny  it  to 
the  world,  and  probably  exert  themselves  to  destroy 
my  credit.     I  offer  to  every  reader  the  following 


♦  I  ought  to  have  made  an  exception  here,  which  I  may  en- 
large upon  in  future.  Certain  other  persons  are  sometimes  ad- 
mitted. 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


63 


description,  knowing  that  time  may  possibly  throw 
open  those  secret  recesses,  and  allow  the  entrance 
of  those  who  can  satisfy  themselves,  with  their  own 
eyes,  of  its  truth.  Some  of  my  declarations  may 
be  thought  deficient  in  evidence ;  and  this  they  must 
of  necessity  be  in  the  present  state  of  things.  But 
here  is  a  kind  of  evidence  on  which  I  rely,  as  I 
see  how  unquestionable  and  satisfactory  it  must 
prove,  whenever  it  shall  be  obtained. 

If  the  interior  of  the  Black  Nunnery,  whenever 
It  shall  be  examined,  is  materially  diflferent  from  the 
following  description,  then  I  can  claim  no  confidence 
of  my  readers.  If  it  resembles  it,  they  will,  I  pre- 
sume, place  confidence  in  some  of  those  declara- 
tions, on  which  I  may  never  be  corroborated  by  true 
and  living  witnesses. 

I  am  sensible  that  great  changes  may  be  made  in 
the  furniture  of  apartments ;  that  new  walls  may  be 
constructed,  or  old  ones  removed ;  and  I  have  been 
credibly  informed,  that  masons  have  been  employed 
m  the  nunnery  since  I  left  it.  I  well  know,  how- 
ever, tliat  entire  changes  cannot  be  made ;  and  that 
enough  must  remain  as  it  was  to  substantiate  my 
description,  whenever  the  truth  shall  be  known. 

The  First  Story, 

Beginning  at  the  extremity  of  the  right  wing 
of  the  Convent,  towards  Notre  Dame-street,  on  the 
first  story,  there  is — 

1st  The  nuns'  private  chapel,  adjoining  which 
18  a  passage  to  a  small  projection  of  the  building. 


:i 


1 


'! 


H! 


l-\ 


m 


l! 


'''til 


t 


nr 


0  1 

I 


{  i 


! 


fel 


64 


BLACK  KUNNERY. 


extending  from  the  upper  story  to  the  ground,  with 
very  small  windows.  Into  the  passage  we  were 
sometimes  required  to  bring  wood  from  the  yard, 
and  pile  it  up  for  use. 

2d.  A  large  community-room,  with  plain  benches 
fixed  against  the  wall  to  sit,  and  lower  ones  in  front 
to  place  our  feet  upon.  There  is  a  fountain  in  the 
passage  near  the  chimney  at  the  farther  end,  for 
washing  the  hands  and  face,  with  a  green  curtain 
sliding  on  a  rod  before  it.  This  passage  leads  to 
the  old  nuns'  sleeping-room  on  the  right,  and  the 
Superior's  sleeping-room,  just  beyond  it,  as  well  as 
to  a  staircase  which  conducts  to  the  nuns'  sleeping- 
room,  or  dortoir,  above.  At  the  end  of  the  pas- 
sage is  a  door  opening  into — 

3d.  The  dining-room;  this  is  larger  than  the 
community-room,  and  has  three  long  tables  for  eat- 
ing, and  a  chapelle,  or  collection  of  little  pictures, 
a  crucifix,  and  a  small  image  of  the  infant  Saviour 
in  a  glass  case.  This  apartment  has  four  doors,  by 
the  first  of  which  we  are  supposed  to  have  entered, 
while  one  opens  to  a  pantry,  and  the  third  and  fourth 
to  the  two  next  apartments. 

4th.  A  large  community-room,  with  tables  for 
sewing,  and  a  staircase  on  the  opposite  left-hand 
corner. 

5th.  A  community-room  for  prayer,  used  by  both 
nuns  and  novices.  In  the  farther  right-hand  corner 
is  a  small  room  partitioned  off,  called  the  room  for 
the  examination  of  conscience,  which  I  had  visited 
while  a  novice  by  permission  of  the  Superior,  and 


'■i 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


65 


where  nuns  and  novices  occasionally  resorted  to  re- 
flect on  their  character,  usually  in  preparation  for 
the  sacrament,  or  when  they  had  transgressed  some 
of  the  rules.  ^^''hJii  little  room  was  hardly  large 
enough  to  contain  half  a  dozen  persons  at  a  lime. 

Gth.  Next  beyond  is  a  large  community-room  for 
Sundays.  A  door  leads  to  the  yard,  and  thence  to 
a  gate  in  the  wall  on  the  cross  street. 

7th.  Adjoining  this  is  a  sitting  room,  fronting  on 
the  cross  street,  with  two  windows,  and  a  storeroom 
on  the  side  opposite  them.  There  is  but  little  fur- 
niture, and  that  very  plain. 

8th.  From  this  room  a  door  leads  into  what  I 
may  call  the  wax-room,  as  it  contains  many  figures 
in  wax,  not  intended  for  sale.  There  we  some- 
times used  to  pray,  or  meditate  on  the  Saviour's 
passion.  This  room  projects  from  the  main  build- 
ing ;  leaving  it,  you  enter  a  long  passage,  w^ith  cup- 
boards on  the  right,  in  which  are  stored  crockery- 
ware,  knives  and  forks,  and  other  articles  of  table 
furniture,  to  replace  those  worn  out  or  broken — all 
of  the  plainest  description ;  also,  shovels,  tongs,  &c» 
This  passage  leads  to — 

9th.  A  corner  room,  with  a  few  benches,  &c. 
and  a  door  leading  to  a  gate  on  the  street.  Here 
some  of  the  medicines  were  kept,  and  persons  were 
often  admitted  on  business,  or  to  obtain  medicines 
with  tickets  from  the  priests ;  and  waited  till  the 
Superior  or  an  old  nun  could  be  sent  for.  Beyond  this 
room  we  were  never  allowed  to  go ;  and  I  cannot 
speak  from  personal  knowledge  of  what  came  next. 


I    ( 
1^ 


lit; 


(- 


i 


66 


BLACK    N17NNERV. 


)     I 


f^l 


m 


The  Second  Story. 
Beginning,  as  before,  at  the  western  extremity  of 
he  same  wing,  but  on  the  second  story,  the  farthest 
apartment  in  that  direction  which  1  ever  entered 

was — 

1st.  The  nuns'  sleeping-room,  or  dormitory,  which 
I  have  already  described.  Here  is  an  access  to  the 
projection  mentioned  in  speaking  of  the  first  story, 
The  stairs  by  which  we  came  up  to  bed  are  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  room  ;  and  near  them  a  crucifix 
and  font  of  holy  water.  A  door  at  the  end  of  the 
room  opens  into  a  passage,  with  two  small  rooms, 
and  closets  between  them,  containing  bedclothes. 
Next  you  enter— 

2d.  A  small  community-room,  beyond  which  is  a 
pfissage  with  a  narrow  staircase,  seldom  used,  which 
leads  into  the  fourth  community-room,  in  the  first 
story.  Following  the  passage  just  mentioned,  you 
enter  by  a  door — 

3d.  A  little  sitting-room,  furnished  in  the  follow- 
ing manner :  with  chairs,  a  sofa,  on  the  north  side, 
covered  with  a  red-figured  cover  and  fringe,  a  table 
in  the  middle,  commonly  bearing  one  or  two  books, 
an  inkstand,  pens,  &c.  At  one  corner  is  a  little 
projection  into  the  room,  caused  by  a  staircase  lead- 
ing from  above  to  the  floor  below,  without  any  com- 
munication with  the  second  story.  This  room  has 
a  door  opening  upon  a  staircase  leading  down  to 
the  yard,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  is  a  gate 
opening  into  the  cross  street.  By  this  way  the  phy- 
sician is  admitted,  except  when  he  comes  later  than 


'  \ 


N 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


67 


usual.  When  he  comes  in,  he  usually  sits  a  little 
while,  until  a  nun  goes  into  the  adjoining  nuns' 
sick-room,  to  see  if  all  is  ready,  and  returns  to  ad- 
mit him.  After  prescribing  for  the  patients  he  goes 
no  farther,  but  returns  by  the  way  he  enters :  and 
these  two  are  the  only  rooms  into  which  he  is  ever 
admitted,  except  the  public  hospital. 

4th.  The  nuns'  sick-room  adjoins  the  little  sitting- 
room  on  the  east,  and  has,  I  think,  four  windows 
towards  the  north,  with  beds  ranged  in  two  rows 
from  end  to  end,  and  a  few  more  between  them,  near 
the  opposite  extremity.  The  door  from  the  sitting- 
room  swings  to  the  left,  and  behind  it  is  a  table, 
while  a  glass  case,  to  the  right,  contains  a  wax 
figure  of  the  infant  Saviour,  with  several  sheep. 
Near  the  northeastern  corner  of  this  room  are  two 
doors,  one  of  which  opens  into  a  long  and  narrow 
passage  leading  to  the  head  of  the  great  staircase 
that  conducts  to  the  cross  street.  By  this  passage 
the  physician  sometimes  finds  his  way  to  the  sick- 
room, when  he  comes  later  than  usual.  He  rings 
the  bell  at  the  gate,  which  I  was  told  had  a  conceal- 
ed pull,  known  only  to  him  and  the  priests,  proceeds 
up-stairs  and  through  the  passage,  rapping  three 
times  at  the  door  of  the  sick-room,  which  is  opened 
by  a  nun  in  attendance,  after  she  has  given  one 
rap  in  reply.  When  he  has  visited  his  patients, 
and  prescribed  for  them,  he  returns  by  the  same 
way. 

5th.  Next  beyond  this  sick-room,  is  a  large  un- 
occupied apartment,  half  divided  by  tsvo  partial  par- 


It, 


'  I  f 


t 

\ 

J: 


(I 


; 


I 


a\ 


h 


'I    I 

H     '■ 


I- 


\     I 


I    ■■ 


llli 


11 


.\^M 


>llv 


!il. 


i.    s 

1  t 


■W 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 

titions,  which  leave  an  open  space  in  the  middia 
Here  some  of  the  old  nuns  commonly  sit  in  tho 
daytime. 

6th.  A  door  from  this  apartment  opens  into  an^ 
other,  not  appropriated  to  any  particular  use,  bul 
containing  a  table,  where  medicines  are  sometimes 
prepared  by  an  old  nun,  who  is  usually  found  there. 
Passing  through  this  room,  you  enter  a  passage, 
with  doors  on  its  four  sides :  that  on  the  left,  which 
is  kept  fastened  on  the  inside,  leads  to  the  staircase 
and  gate;  that  in  front,  to  private  sick-rooms,  soon 
to  be  described. 

7th.  That  on  the  right  leads  to  another,  appropri- 
ated to  nuns  suffering  with  the  most  loathsome  dis- 
ease. There  were  usually  a  number  of  straw  mat- 
tresses in  that  room,  as  I  well  knew,  having  helped 
to  carry  them  in  after  the  yard-man  had  filled  them, 
A  door  beyond  enters  into  a  storeroom,  which 
extends  also  beyond  this  apartment.  On  the  right, 
another  door  opens  into  another  passage,  crossing 
which,  you  enter  by  a  door — 

8th.  A  room  with  a  bed  and  screen  in  one  corner, 
on  which  nuns  were  laid  to  be  examined  before 
their  introduction  into  the  sick-room  last  mentioned. 
Another  door,  opposite  the  former,  opens  into  a  pas- 
sage, in  which  is  a  staircase  leading  down. 

9th.  Beyond  this  is  a  spare-room,  sometimes  used 
to,  store  apples,  boxes  of  different  things,  &c. 

10th.  Returning  now  to  the  passage  which  opens 
on  one  side  upon  the  stairs  to  the  gate,  we  enter 
the  only  remaining  door,  which  leads  into  an  apart- 


SLACK   NUNNERY. 


60 


mcnt  usually  occupied  by  some  of  the  old  nuns,  and 
frequently  by  the  Superior. 

11  th,  and  12th.  Beyond  this  are  two  more  sick- 
rooms, in  one  of  which  those  nuns  stay  who  are 
waiting  their  accouchement,  and  in  the  other,  those 
who  have  passed  it. 

I3ih.  The  next  is  a  small  sitting-room,  where  a 
priest  waits  to  baptize  the  infants  previous  to  their 
murder.  A  passage  leads  from  this  room,  on  the 
left,  by  the  doors  of  two  succeeding  apartments, 
neither  of  which  have  1  ever  entered. 

14th.  The  first  of  them  is  the  ''holy  retreat,"  or 
room  occupied  by  the  priests,  while  suffering  the 
penalty  of  their  licentiousness. 

1 5th.  The  other  is  a  sitting-room,  to  which  they 
have  access.  Beyond  these  the  passage  leads  to 
two  rooms,  containing  closets  for  the  storage  of 
various  articles,  and  two  others  where  persons  are 
received  who  come  on  business. 

The  public  hospitals  succeed,  and  extend  a  con- 
siderable distance,  I  believe,  to  the  extremity  of  the 
building.  By  a  public  entrance  in  that  part,  priests 
often  come  into  the  nunnery ;  and  I  have  often  seen 
some  of  them  thereabouts,  who  must  have  entered 
by  that  way.  Indeed,  priests  often  get  into  the  "  holy 
retreat"  without  exposing  themselves  to  the  view  of 
persons  in  other  parts  of  the  Convent,  and  have  been 
first  known  to  be  there,  by  the  yard-man  being  sent 
to  the  Seminary  for  their  clothes. 

The  Congregational  Nunnery  was  founded  by  a 
nun  called  Sister  Bourgcoise.    She  taught  a  school 


1> 


i-i^; 


,1.' 


It* 


r,  i' 


'if 


70 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I 

I 

;  :  i 

\\  :  ' 
n 


in  Montreal,  and  left  property  for  the  foundation  ot 
a  Convent.  Her  body  is  buried,  and  her  heart  is 
kept,  under  the  nunnery,  in  an  iron  chest,  whieh 
lias  been  shown  to  me,  with  the  assurance  that  it 
continues  in  perfect  preservation,  although  she  ha» 
been  dead  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
In  the  chapel  is  the  following  inscription :  "  Soeur 
Bourgeoise,  Fondatrice  du  Convent" — Sister  Bour- 
(^'poise,  Founder  of  the  Convent. 

Nothing  was  more  common  than  for  the  Superior 
to  .step  hastily  into  our  community-rooms,  while 
numbers  of  us  were  assembled  there,  and  hastily 
communicate  her  wishes  in  words  like  these: — 

"  Here  are  the  parents  of  such  a  novice :  come 
with  me,  and  bear  me  out  in  this  story."  She  would 
(hen  mention  the  outlines  of  a  tissue  of  falsehoods,, 
she  had  just  invented,  that  we  might  be  prepared  to 
fabricate  circumstances,  and  throw  in  whatever  else 
might  favour  the  deception.  This  was  justified,  and 
indeed  most  highly  commended,  by  the  system  of 
faith  in  which  we  were  instructed. 

It  was  a  common  remark  made  at  the  initiation 
of  a  new  nun  into  the  Black  nun  department,  that 
is,  to  receive  the  black  veil,  that  the  introduction  ot 
another  navice  into  the  Convent  as  a  veiled  nun, 
caused  the  introduction  of  a  veiled  nun  into  heaven 
as  a  saint,  which  was  on  account  of  the  singular  dis- 
appearance  of  some  of  the  older  nuns  at  the  entrance 
of  new  ones ! 

To  witness  tlie  scenes  which  often  occurred  be- 
tween us  and  strangers,  would  have  struck  a  persoa 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


ri 


very  powerfully,  if  he  had  known  how  truth  was  set 
at  naught.  The  Superior,  with  a  serious  and  dig- 
nified air,  and  a  pleasant  voice  and  aspect,  would 
commence  a  recital  of  things  most  favourable  to  the 
character  of  the  absent  novice,  and  representing  her 
as  equally  fond  of  her  situation,  and  beloved  by  the 
other  inmates.  The  tale  told  by  the  Superior,  what- 
ever it  was,  however  unheard  before  might  have 
been  any  of  her  statements,  was  then  attested  by  us, 
who,  in  every  way  we  could  think  of,  endeavoured 
I  to  confirm  her  declarations,  beyond  the  reach  of 

doubt. 

Sometimes  the  Superior  would  intrust  the  man- 
agement of  such  a  case  to  some  of  the  nuns, 
whether  to  habituate  us  to  the  practice  in  which  she 
was  so  highly  accomplished,  or  to  relieve  herself  of 
what  would  have  been  a  serious  burden  to  most 
other  persons,  or  to  ascertain  whether  she  could  de- 
pend upon  us,  or  all  together,  I  cannot  tell.  Often, 
however,  have  I  seen  her  throw  open  a  door,  and, 
say,  in  a  hurried  manner,  "  Who  can  tell  the  best 
story  ?" 

One  point,  on  which  we  received  frequent  and 
particular  instructions  was,  the  nature  of  false- 
hoods. On  this  subject  I  have  heard  many  a 
speech,  I  had  almost  said  many  a  sermon ;  and  I 
was  led  to  believe  that  it  was  one  of  great  importance, 
one  on  which  it  was  a  duty  to  be  well  informed,  as 
well  as  to  act.  "What!"  exclaimed  a  priest  one 
day — •*  what  a  nun  of  your  age,  and  not  know  the 
difference  between  a  wicked  and  a  religious  lie  I" 


i  1 


, 


li- 


>P 


IK 


m\ 


'A 


'I      ! 


^': 


Ui 


r'5 


I 


72 


BLACK    NUNNERT. 


He  then  went  on,  as  had  been  done  many  times 
previously  in  my  hearing,  to  show  the  essential  dif- 
ference between  the  two  different  kinds  of  false- 
hoods. A  lie  told  merely  for  the  injury  of  another, 
for  our  own  interest  alone,  or  for  no  object  at  all,  he 
painted  as  a  sin  worthy  of  penance.  But  a  lie  told 
for  the  good  of  the  church  or  Convent,  was  merit- 
orious, and  of  course  the  telling  of  it  a  duty.  And 
of  this  class  of  lies  there  were  many  varieties  and 
shades.  This  doctrine  has  been  inculcated  on  me 
and  my  companions  in  the  nunnery,  more  time.s 
than  I  can  enuraerate ;  and  to  say  that  it  was  gener- 
ally received,  would  be  to  tell  a  part  of  the  truth. 
We  often  saw  the  practice  of  it,  and  were  frequently 
made  to  take  part  in  it.  Whenever  any  thing  which 
the  Superior  thought  important,  could  be  most  con- 
veniently accomplished  by  falsehood,  she  resorted  to 
It  without  scruple. 

There  was  a  class  of  cases  in  which  she  more 
frequently  relied  on  deception  than  any  other. 

The  friends  of  novices  frequently  applied  at  the 
Convent  to  see  them,  or  at  least  to  inquire  after  their 
welfare.  It  was  common  for  them  to  be  politely  re- 
fused an  interview,  on  some  account  or  other,  gener- 
ally a  mere  pretext ;  and  then  the  Superior  usually 
sought  to  make  as  favourable  an  impression  as  pos- 
sible on  the  visiters.  Sometimes  she  would  make 
up  a  story  on  the  spot,  and  tell  the  strangers ;  re- 
quiring some  of  us  to  confirm  it,  in  the  most  con- 
vincing way  we  could. 

At  other  times  she  would  prefer  to  make  over  to 


-      '1,1 


'■i 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


n 


MS  the  task  of  deceiving;,  and  we  were  comnended 
in  proportion  to  our  ingenuity  and  success. 

Some  nun  usually  showed  lier  submission,  by  im- 
mediately steppmg  forward.     She  would  then  add, 
perhaps,  that  the  parents  of  such  a  novice,  whom 
she  named,  were  in  waiting,  and  it  was  necessary 
that  they  should  be  told  such,  and  such,  and  such 
things.     To  perform  so  difficult  a  task  well,  was 
considered  a  difficult  duty,  and  it  was  one  of  tho 
most  certain  ways  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  Su- 
perior.    Whoever  volunteered  to  make  a  story  on 
the  spot,  was  sent  immediately  to  tell  it,  and  the 
other  nuns  present  were  hurried  off  with  her  under 
strict  injunctions  to  uphold  her  in  every  thing  she 
might  state.     The  Superior,   as   there  was  every 
reason  to  believe,  on  all  such  occasions,  when  she 
did  not  herself  appear,  hastened  to  the  apartment 
adjoining  that  in  which  the  nuns  were  going,  there 
to  listen  through  the  thin  partition,  to  hear  whether 
all  performed  their  parts  aright.     It  was  not  uncom- 
mon for  her  to  go  raiher  further,  when  she  wanted 
time  to  give  such  explanations  as  she  could  have  de- 
sired.    She  would  then  enter  abruptly,  ask,  "  Who 
can  tell  a  good  story  this  morning?"  and  hurry  us 
off  without  a  moment's  delay,  to  do  our  best  at  a 
venture,  without  waiting  for  instructions.     It  would 
be  curious,  could   a  stranger  from   "  the  wicked 
world"  outside  the  Convent  witness  such  a  scene. 
One  of  the  nuns,  who  felt  in  a  favourable  humour 
to  undertake  the  proposed  task,  would  step  promptly 
forward,  and  signify  her  readiness  in  the  usual  way: 
7 


1?} 


I 


K 


i.l' 
ii'i 


n 


Ik 


it 


hi. 


ii 


•i», 

;ii! 


n 


BLACK    NUNNEilY. 


p. 


I 


f 


by  a  knowing  wink  of  one  eye,  and  a  slight  toss  of 

the  head. 

"  Well,  go  and  do  the  best  you  can,"  the  Superior 
v/ould  say;  "  and  all  the  rest  of  you  must  mind  and 
swear  to  it."  The  latter  part  of  the  order,  at  least, 
was  always  performed ;  for  in  every  such  case,  all 
the  nuns  present  appeared  as  unanimous  witnesses 
of  every  thing  that  was  uttered  by  the  spokesman 
of  the  day. 

We  were  constantly  hearing  it  repeated,  that  wo 
must  never  again  look  upon  ourselves  as  our  own; 
but  must  remember,  that  we  were  solemnly  and  ir- 
revocably devoted  to  God.     Whatever  was  required 
of  us,  we  were  called  upon  to  yield  under  the  most  so- 
lemn considerations.     I  cannot  speak  on  every  par- 
ticular with  equal  freedom ;  but  I  wish  my  readers 
clearly  to  understand  the  condition   in  which  wo 
were  placed,  and  the  means  used  to  reduce  us  to 
what  we  had  to  submit  to.     Not  only  were  we  re- 
quired to  perform  the  several  tasks  imposed  upon  us 
at  work,  prayers,  and  penances,  under  the  idea  that 
we  were  performing  solemn  duties  to  our  Maker, 
but  every  thing  else  which  was  required  of  us,  we 
were  constantly  told,  was  something  indispensable 
in  his  sight.     The  priests,  we  admitted,  were  the 
servants  of  God,  specially  appointed  by  his  authority, 
to  teach  us  our  duty,  to  absolve  us  from  sin,  and  to 
lead  us  to  heaven.     Without  their   assistance,    wo 
had  allowed  we  could  never  enjoy  the  favour  of 
God ;  unless  they  administered  the  sacraments  to  us, 
we  could  not  enjoy  everlasting  happiness.     Having 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


75 


cohsented  to  acknowledge  all  this,  we  had  no  ob- 
jection to  urge  against  admitting  any  other  demand 
that  might  be  made  for  or  by  them.  If  we  thought 
an  act  ever  so  criminal,  the  Superior  would  tell  us 
that  the  priests  acted  under  the  direct  sanction  of 
God,  and  could  not  sin.  Of  course,  then,  it  could 
not  be  wrong  to  comply  with  any  of  their  requests, 
because  they  could  not  demand  any  thing  but  what 
was  right.  On  the  contrary,  to  refuse  to  do  any 
thing  they  asked,  would  necessarily  be  sinful.  Such 
doctrines  admitted,  and  such  practices  perform- 
ed, it  will  not  seem  wonderful  when  I  mention 
that  we  often  felt  something  of  their  preposterous 
clmracter. 

Sometimes  we  took  pleasure  in  ridiculing  some  of 
the  favourite  themes  of  our  teachers ;  and  I  recol- 
lect one  subject  particularly,  which  at  one  period 
afforded  us  repeated  merriment.  It  may  seem  irrev- 
erent in  me  to  give  the  account,  but  I  do  it  to  show 
how  things  of  a  solemn  nature  were  sometimes 
treated  in  the  Convent,  by  women  bearing  the  title 
of  saints.  A  Canadian  Novice,  who  spoke  very 
broken  English,  ono  day  remarked  that  she  was 
performing  some  duty  "for  the  God."  This  pecu- 
liar expression  had  something  ridiculous  to  the  ears 
of  some  of  us;  and  it  was  soon  repeated  again  and 
again,  in  application  to  various  ceremonies  which 
we  had  to  perform.  Mad  Jane  Ray  seized  upon  it, 
with  avidity,  and  with  her  aid  it  soon  took  the  place 
of  a  by-word  in  conversation,  so  that  we  were  con- 
stantly reminding  each  other,  that  we  were  doing 


'i  i) 


!)    '' 


••!' 

1       ; 

i 

! 

i  • 

.,  :>; 

V 

Im 


I  ^'  i 


#' 


76 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


this  and  that  thing,  how  trifling  and  unmeaning 
soever,  "for  the  God."  Nor  did  we  stop  here: 
when  the  Superior  called  upon  us  to  bear  witness  to 
one  of  her  religious  lies,  or  to  fabricate  the  most 
spurious  one  the  time  would  admit ;  to  save  her 
the  trouble,  we  were  sure  to  be  reminded,  on  oui 
way  to  the  stranger's  room,  that  we  were  doing  it 
**  for  the  God."  And  so  it  was  when  other  things 
were  mentioned — every  thing  which  belonged  to 
our  condition,  was  spoken  of  in  similar  terms. 

I  have  hardly  detained  the  reader  long  enough 
on  the  subject,  to  give  him  a  just  impression  of  the 
stijss  laid  on  confession.  It  is  one  of  the  great 
points  to  which  our  attention  was  constantly  direct- 
ed. AVe  were  directed  to  keep  a  strict  and  constant 
watch  over  our  thoughts ;  to  have  continually  be- 
fore our  minds  the  rules  of  the  Convent,  to  compare 
the  one  with  the  other,  remember  every  devotion, 
and  tell  all,  even  the  smallest,  at  confession,  either 
to  the  Superior,  or  to  the  priest.  My  mind  was  thus 
kept  in  a  continual  state  of  activity,  whicli  proved 
very  wearisome ;  and  it  required  the  constant  exer- 
tion, of  our  teachers,  to  keep  ns  up  to  the  practice 
they  inculcated. 

Another  tale  recurs  to  me,  of  those  which  were 
frequently  told  us  to  make  us  feel  the  importance  of 
tturcs^erved  confession. 

A  nun  of  our  Convent,  who  had  hidden  some  sin 
from  her  confessor,  died  suddenly,  and  without 
any  one  to  confess  her.  Her  sisteys  assembled  to 
pray  for  the  peace  of  her  soul  when  she  appeared, 


\ 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


77 


and  informed  thorn,  that  it  would  be  of  no  use,  but 
rather  troublesome  to  her,  as  her  pardon  was  impos- 
sible.* The  doctrine  is,  that  prayers  made  for  souls 
guilty  of  unconfessed  sin,  do  but  sink  them  deeper 
in  hell ;  and  this  is  the  reason  I  have  heard  given 
for  not  praying  for  Protestants. 

The  authority  of  the  priests  in  every  thing,  and 
the  enormity  of  every  act  which  opposes  it,  were 
also  impressed  upon  our  minds,  in  various  ways,  by 
our  teachers.  A  ••  Father"  told  us  the  following 
story  one  day  at  catechism. 

A  man  once  died  who  had  failed  to  pay  some 
money  which  the  priest  had  asked  of  him ;  he  was 
condemned  to  be  burnt  in  purgatory  until  he  should 
pay  it,  but  had  permission  to  come  back  to  this 
world,  and  take  a  human  body  to  work  in.  He 
made  his  appearance  therefore  again  on  earth,  and 
hired  himself  to  a  rich  man  as  a  labourer.  He 
worked  all  day  with  the  fire  burning  in  him,  un- 
seen by  other  people ;  but  while  he  was  in  bed  that 
night,  a  girl  in  an  adjoining  rdom,  perceiving  the 
smell  of  brimstone,  looked  through  a  crack  in  the 
wall,  and  saw  him  covered  with  flames.  She  in- 
formed his  master,  who  questioned  him  the  next 
morning,  and  found  that  his  hired  man  was  secretly 
suffering  the  pains  of  purgatory,  for  neglecting  to 
pay  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  the  prieot.     He, 


•  Since  the  first  edition,  I  have  found  this  :Qle  related  in  a 
Romish  book,  as  one  of  very  ancient  date.  It  was  told  to  us  as 
having  taken  place  in  our  Convent 

7* 


>  i  > 


'\  J;  ! 


1, 


f' 


;       1 

'     il 

!    'i 

11 


t  I 


I 


>u 


■I 


,uf    ; 


'  ^11 


78 


SLACK    NUNKERT. 


\^^ 


therefore,  furnished  him  the  amount  due ;  it  was 
paid,  and  the  servant  went  off  immediately  to  heav 
en.  The  priest  cannot  forgive  any  debt  due  unto 
him,  because  it  is  the  Lord's  estate. 

While  at  confession,  I  was  urged  to  hide  nothing 
from  the  priest,  and  have  been  told  by  them,  that 
they  already  knew  what  was  in  my  heart,  but  wQuld 
not  tell,  because  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  confess  it. 
I  really  believed  that  the  priests  were  acquainted 
with  my  thoughts ;  and  often  stood  in  great  awe  ot 
them.  They  often  told  me  they  had  power  to  strike 
me  dead  at  any  moment 


CHAPTER  IX- 

Nuns  with  similar  namesSquaio  Nuns—JFHrst  visit  to  tht 
Cellar — Description  of  it — Shocking  discovery  there— Supt' 
riar^s  Instructions— Private  Signal  of  the  Priests — Books 
u,'}cd  in  the  Nunnery— Opinions  expressed  qf  the  Biblt-^Spt' 
cimens  0/ what  I  know  of  the  Scriptures, 

I  FOUND  that  I  had  several  namesnkes  among  the 
nuns,  for  there  were  two  others  who  ah  ^udy  bore 
my  new  name,  Saint  Eustace.  This  was  not  a 
solitary  case,  for  there  were  five  Saint  Marys,  and 
three  Saint  Monros,  besides  two  novices  of  that 
name.  Of  my  namesakes  I  have  little  to  say,  for 
they  resembled  most  of  the  nuns ;  being  so  much  cut 
off  from  intercourse  with  me  and  the  other  sisters, 
that  I  never  saw  any  thing  in  them,  nor  learnt  any 
thing  about  them,  worth  mentioning. 

Several  of  my  new  companions  were  squaws, 
who  had  taken  the  veil  at  different  times.  They 
were  from  some  of  the  Indian  settlements  in  the 
country,  but  were  not  distinguishable  by  any  strik- 
ing habits  of  character  from  other  nuns,  and  were 
generally  not  very  different  in  their  appearance 
when  in  their  usual  dress,  and  engaged  in  their  cus- 
tomary occupations.  It  was  evident,  that  they  were 
treated  with  much  kindness  and  lenity  by  the  Su- 
perior and  the  old  nuns ;  and  this  I  discovered  was 
done  in  order  to  render  them  as  well  contented  and 
happy   in  their   situation  as   possible.      I   should 


i  * 


; 


h; 


m 


\  i 

I' 


f 


80 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I     ■     ! 
!   I     ' 


(|       I 


have  attributed  the  motives  for  this  partiality  to 
their  wishing  that  they  might  not  influence  others 
to  keep  away,  had  I  not  know^n  they  were,  like  our- 
selves,  unable  to  exert  such  an  influence.     And 
therefore,  I  could  not  satisfy  my  own  mind  why  this 
difference  was  made.     Many  of  the  Indians  were 
remarkably  devoted  to  the  priests,  believing  every 
thing  they  were  taught ;  and  as  it  is  represented  to 
be  not  only  a  high  honour,  but  a  real  advantage  to 
a  family,  to  have  one  of  its  members  become  a  nun, 
Indian  parents  will  often  pay  large  sums  of  money 
for  the  admission  of  their  daughters  into  a  convent. 
The  father  of  one  of  the  squaws,  I  w^as  told,  paid  to 
the  Superior  nearly  her  weight  in  silver  on  Jier  re- 
ception, although  he  was  obliged  to  sell  nearly  all 
his  property  to  raise  the  money.     This  he  did  vol- 
untarily,  because  he  thought  himself  overpaid  by 
iiaving  the  advantage  of  her  prayers,  self-sacrifices, 
&c.  for  himself  and  the  remainder  of  his  family. 
The   squaws  sometimes   served  to  amuse   us;  for 
when  we  were  partially  dispirited  or  gloomy,  the 
Superior   w-ould  occasionally  send  them   to  dress 
themselves  in  their  Indian  garments,  which  usually 
excited  us  to  merriment. 

Among  the  squaw  nuns  whom  I  particularly  re* 
member,  was  one  of  the  Sainte  Hypolites,  not  the 
one  who  figured  in  a  dreadful  scene,  described  in 
another  part  of  this  narrative,  but  a  woman  of  a  far 
more  mild  and  humane  character. 

Three  or  four  days  after  my  reception,  the  Su- 
nerior  sent  me  into  the  collar  for  cf  al;  and  after  she 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


81 


had  given  me  directions,  I  proceeded  down  a  stair- 
case, with  a  lamp  in  my  hand.     I  soon  found  my. 
self  upon  the  bare  earth,  in  a  spacious  place,  so  dark, 
that  I  could  not  at  once   distinguish  its  form,  or 
size,  but  I  observed  that  it  had  very  solid  stone 
walls,  and  was  arched  overhead,  at  no  great  eleva- 
tion.    Following  my  directions,   I   proceeded  on- 
ward from  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  where  appeared 
to  be  one  end  of  the  cellar.     After  walking  about 
fifteen  paces,   I  passed  three  small  doors,  on  the 
right,  fastened  with  large  iron  bolts  on  the  outside, 
pushed  into  posts  of  stone-work,  and  each  having  a 
small  opening  above,  covered  with  a  tine  grating, 
secured  by  a  smaller  bolt.     On  my  left,  were  three 
similar  doors,  resembling  these,  and  placed  opposite 
them. 

Beyond  thes?,  the  space  became  broader;  the 
doors  evidently  closed  small  compartments,  pro- 
jecting from  the  outer  wall  of  the  cellar.  I  soon 
stepped  upon  a  wooden  floor,  on  which  were  heaps 
of  wool,  coarse  linen,  and  other  articles,  apparently 
deposited  there  for  occasional  use.  I  soon  crossed 
the  floor,  and  found  the  bare  earth  again  under  my 
feet. 

A  little  farther  on,  I  found  the  cellar  again  con 
tracted  in  size,  by  a  row  of  closets,  or  smaller  com 
parimcnts  prpjecting  on  each  side.  These  werv 
closed  by  doors  of  a  diflerent  description  from  thi 
first,  having  a  simple  fastening,  and  no  opening 
through  them. 

Just  beyond,  on  the  left  side,  I  passed  a  staircase 


;)i:i; 


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I'H 


82 


BLACK    NUNNKRY. 


leading  up,  and  then  three  doors,  much  resembling 
those  first  described,  standing  opposite  three  more, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  cellar.  Having  passea 
there,  I  found  the  cellar  again  enlarged  as  before, 
and  here  the  earth  appeared  as  if  mixed  with  some 
whitish  substance,  which  attracted  my  attention. 

As  I  proceeded,  I  found  the  whiteness  increase, 
until  the  surface  looked  almost  like  snow,  and  in 
a  short  time  I  observed  before  me,  a  hole  dug  so 
deep  into  the  earth  that  I  could  perceive  no  bottom. 
I  stopped  to  observe  it. — It  was  circular,  perhaps 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  across;  in  the  middle  of  the 
cellar,  and  unprotected  by  any  kind  of  curb,  so  that 
one  might  easily  have  walked  into  it,  in  the  dark. 

The  white  substance  which  I  had  observed,  was 
spread  all  over  the  surface  around  it;  and  lay  in 
puch  quantity  on  all  sides,  that  it  seemed  as  if  a 
great  deal  of  it  must  have  been  thrown  into  the 
hole.  It  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  the  white 
substance  was  lime,  and  that  this  must  be  the  place 
where  the  infants  were  buried,  after  being  murdered, 
us  the  Superior  had  informed  me.  I  knew  that  lime 
is  often  used  by  Roman  Catholics  in  burying-places ; 
and  in  this  way  I  accounted  for  its  being  scatterea 
about  the  spot  in  such  quantities. 

This  was  a  shocking  thought  to  me ;  but  I  can 
hardly  tell  ho.v  it  afloctcd  me,  as  I  had  already  been 
prepared  to  expect  dreadful  things  in  the  Convent, 
.and  had  undergone  trials  which  prevented  me  from 
.feJing  as  I  should  formerly  have  done  in  similar 
circumstances. 


Si 


BLACK     NUNNERY. 


83 


I  passed  me  spot,  therefore,  with  distressing 
thoughts,  it  is  true,  about  the  little  corpses,  which 
might  be  in  that  secret  burying-place,  but  with  recol- 
lections also  of  the  declarations  which  I  had  heard, 
about  the  favour  done  their  souls  by  sending  them 
straight  to  heaven,  and  the  necessary  virtue  accom- 
panying all  the  actions  of  the  priests. 

Whether  I  noticed  them  or  not,  at  the  time,  there 
is  a  window  or  two  on  each,  nearly  against  the  hole, 
in  at  which  are  sometimes  thrown  articles  brought 
to  them  from  without,  for  the  use  of  the  Convent. 
Through  the  window  on  my  right,  which  opens  into 
the  yard,  towards  the  cross  street,  lime  is  received 
from  carts ;  and  I  then  saw  a  large  heap  of  it  near 
the  place. 

Passing  the  hole,  I  came  to  a  spot  where  was 
another  projection  on  each  side,  with  three  cells  like 
those  I  first  described.  Beyond  them,  in  another 
broad  part  of  the  cellar,  were  heaps  of  vegetables, 
and  other  things,  on  the  right ;  and  on  the  left  I  found 
the  charcoal  I  was  in  search  of  This  was  placed 
in  a  heap  against  the  wall,  as  I  might  then  have 
observed,  near  a  small  high  window,  like  the  rest,  at 
which  it  is  thrown  in.  Beyond  this  spot,  at  a  short 
distance,  the  cellar  terminated. 

The  top  quite  to  that  point,  is  arched  overhead, 
though  at  different  heights,  for  the  earth  on  the 
bottom  is  uneven,  and  in  some  places  several  feet 
higher  than  in  others. 

Not  liking  to  be  alone  in  so  spacious  and  gloomy 
a  part  of  the  Convent,  especially  after  the  discovery 


.1 


t   i  t 


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,1 


:  I 


84 


BLACK    N'UNNEUV. 


I  had  made,  I  hastened  to  fill  my  basket  with  coal, 
and  to  return. 

Here  then  1  was,  in  a  place  which  I  had  consid- 
ered as  the  nearest  imitation  of  licavcn  to  be  found 
on  earth,  among  a  society  where  deeds  were  con- 
stantly perpetrated,  which  I  had  believed  to  be  most 
criminal,  and  I  had  now  found  the  place  in  which 
harmless  infants  were  unfeelingly  thrown  out  of 
eight,  after  being  murdered. 

And  yet,  such  is  the  power  of  instruction  and 
example,  although  not  satisfied,  as  many  around  mo 
seemed  to  be,  that  this  was  all  righteous  and  proper, 
I  sometimes  was  half  inclined  to  believe  it,  for  the 
priests  could  do  no  sin,  and  this  was  done  by  priests. 

Among  the  first  instructions  I  received  from  the 
Superior,  were  such  as  prepared  me  to  admit  priests 
into  the  nunnery  from  the  street  at  irregular  hours. 
It  is  no  secret,  that  priests  enter  and  go  out;  but  if 
they  were  to  be  watched  by  any  perscjn  in  St.  Paul's- 
street  all  day  long,  no  irregularity  might  be  sus- 
pected; and  they  might  be  supposed  to  visit  the 
Convent  for  the  performance  of  religious  ceremonies 
merely. 

But  if  a  person  were  near  the  gate  about  midnight, 
he  might  sometimes  form  a  diflferent  opinion;  for 
when  a  stray  priest  is  shut  out  of  the  Seminary,  or 
is  otherwise  put  in  the  need  of  seeking  a  lodging, 
he  is  always  sure  of  being  admitted  into  the  black 
nunnery.  Nobody  but  a  priest  or  the  physician  can 
ring  the  bell  at  the  sick-room  door;  much  less  can 
nny  others  gain  admittance.    The  pull  of  the  bell  is 


liar 


lack 


Vi 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


83 


entirely  concealed,  somewhere  on  the  outside  of  tho 
gate,  1  have  been  told. 

He  makes  himself  known  as  a  priest  by  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  hissing  sound,  made  by  the  tonguo 
pgainst  the  teeth,  while  they  are  kept  closed,  and  the 
Jips  open.  The  nun  within,  who  delays  to  open  tho 
door,  until  informed  what  kind  of  an  applicant  is 
there,  immediately  recognises  the  signal,  and  replies 
with  two  inarticulate  sounds,  such  as  are  often  used 
instead  of  yes,  with  the  mouth  closed. 

The  Superior  seemed  to  consider  this  part  of  my 
instructions  quite  important,  and  taught  me  the  sig- 
nals.     I  had  often  occasion  to  use  them :  I  have 

4 

b'cn  repeatedly  called  to  the  door,  in  the  night, 
while  v/atching  in  the  sick-room  ;  and  on  reaching 
it  heard  the  short  hissing  sound  I  have  mentioned, 
then  according  to  my  standing  orders,  unfastening 
ih?  door,  admitted  a  priest,  who  was  at  liberty  to  go 
where  he  pleased.  I  will  name  Mr.  Bierze  from 
St.  Denis. 

The  books  used  in  the  nunnery,  at  least  such  as 
1  recollect  of  them,  were  the  following.  Most  of 
these  nve  lecture  books,  or  such  as  are  used  by  the 
daily  readers,  while  we  were  at  work,  and  meals. 
These  were  all  furnished  by  the  Superior,  out  of  her 
library,  to  which  we  never  had  access.  She  was  in- 
formed when  we  had  done  with  one  book,  and  then 
exchanged  it  for  such  another  as  she  pleased  to 
self  ct. 

Le  Miroir  du  Chretien,  (Christian  Mirror,)  His- 
tory of  Rome,  History  of  the  Church,  Life  of  Saiur 


t   i  ' 


;i  ! 


6^ 


m 


'\«  V 


.n\ 
! 


j 


It 


m 


86 


BLACK    NUNNF.UY. 


Bourgeoisc,  (the  founder  of  the  Convent,)  in  iwi 
volumes,  L'Angc  Conduclcur,  (the  Guardian  An- 
gel,) L'Ange  Chretien,  (the  Christian  Angel,)  Los 
Vies  des  Saints,  (Lives  of  Saints,)  in  several  volumes. 
Dialogues,  a  volume  consisting  of  conversations  be- 
tween a  Protestant  Doctor,  called  Dr.  D.  and  a 
Catholic  gentleman,  on  the  articles  of  faith,  in 
which,  after  much  ingenious  reasoning,  the  former 
was  confuted.  One  large  book,  the  name  of  which 
I  have  forgotten,  occupied  us  nine  or  ten  months  at 
our  lectures,  night  and  morning.  L' Instruct -m  do  1;; 
Jeuncsse,  (the  Instruction  of  Youth,)  containing 
much  about  Convents,  and  the  education  ol  persons 
in  the  world,  with  a  great  deal  on  confL-ssious,  &c. 
Examen  dc  la  Conscience,  (Examination  of  Con- 
sience,)  is  a  book  frequently  used. 

I  may  here  remark,  that  I  never  saw  a  Bible  in 
the  Convent  from  the  day  I  entered  as  a  novice,  un- 
til that  on  which  I  efTected  my  escape.  The  Ca- 
tholic New  Testament,  commonly  called  the  Evan- 
gile,  was  read  to  us  about  three  or  four  times  a  year. 
The  Superior  directed  the  reader  what  passage  to 
select;  but  we  never  had  it  in  our  hands  to  read 
when  we  pleased.  I  often  heard  the  Protestant 
Bible  spoken  of,  in  bitter  terms,  as  a  most  dangerous 
book,  and  one  which  never  ought  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  common  people. 


# 


CHAPTER   X. 

Mnnu/aclurt  of  Urcad^  and  Wax  Candles^  canUd  on  in  the 
Concent — Superstitions— i^'capularics  — Virgin  JMury^s  pin- 
cushiim— Her  House— The  Dishop's  poxcer  over  fire— My  In- 
structions  to  Novices— Jane  Hay--  Vacillation  of  feelings. 

L.  RGKqi>aiitities  of  bread  aVc  made  in  the  Black 
Nunnery  every  week,  for  besides  what  is  necessary 
10  feed  the  nuns,  many  of  th»^  poor  are  supplied. 
When  a  priest  wishes  t  ^ive  a  loaf  ot  bread  to  a 
poor  person,  he  gives  him  an  order,  which  is  pre- 
.•^ented  at  the  Convent.  The  makinqf  of  broad  is 
therefore  one  of  the  most  laborious  employments  in 
the  Institution. 

The  manufacture  of  wax  candles  was  another  im- 
portant branch  of  business  in  the  nunnery.  It  was 
carried  on  in  a  small  room,  on  the  first  floor,  thence 
called  the  Ciergerie,  or  wax-room;  cicrge  being  t!ie 
French  word  for  a  vmx  candle.  I  was  sometimes 
sent  to  read  the  daily  lecture  and  catechism  to  the 
nuns  employed  there,  but  found  it  a  veiy  unpleasant 
task,  as  the  smell  rising  from  the  melted  wax  gave 
me  a  sickness  at  the  stomach.  The  employment 
was  considered  rather  unhealthy,  and  those  were 
assigned  to  it,  who  had  the  strongest  constitutions. 
The  nuns  who  were  more  commonly  employed  ia 
that  room,  were  Sainte  Maria,  Sainte  Catharine, 
Sainte  Charlotte,  Saint  Francis,  Sainte  Ilyacinthe, 
Saint  Hypolite,  and  others.     But  with  these,  as  with 


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BLACK    NUNNERY. 


Other  persons  in  the  Convent,  I  was  never  allowed 
to  speak,  except  under  circumstances  before  men- 
tioned. I  was  sent  to  read,  and  was  not  allowed 
even  to  answer  the  most  trivial  question,  if  one  were 
asked  me.  Should  a  nun  say,  "what  o'clock  is  ii  V* 
I  never  should  have  dared  to  reply,  but  was  re- 
quired to  report  her  to  tho  Superior. 

Much  stress  was  laid  on  the  sa'mte  scapulaire^ 
or  holy  scapulary.  This  is  a  small  band  of  cloth 
or  silk,  formed  and  wrought  in  a  particular  man- 
ner, to  be  tied  around  the  neck,  by  two  strings,  fist- 
ened  to  the  ends.  I  have  made  many  of  them^ 
having  been  sometimes  set  to  make  them  in  the  Con- 
vent. On  one  side  is  worked  a  kind  of  double  cross, 
(thus,  XX)  and  on  the  other  I.  H.  S.  the  meaning 
of  which  I  do  not  exactly  know.  Such  a  band  is 
called  a  scapulary,  and  many  miracles  are  attributed 
to  its  power.  Children  on  first  receiving  the  com- 
munion are  often  presented  with  scapularies,  which 
they  are  taught  to  regard  with  great  reverence.  We 
were  told  of  the  wonders  effected  by  their  means, 
in  the  addresses  made  to  i!s,  by  priests  at  catechism 
or  lectures.  I  will  repeat,  one  or  two  of  the  stories 
which  occur  to  me. 

A  Roman  Catholic  servant  woman,  who  had  con* 
cealed  some  of  her  sins  at  confession,  acted  so  hy- 
pocritical a  part  as  to  make  her  mistress  believe  her 
a  (levole,  or  a  strict  observer  of  her  duty.  She  even 
imposed  upon  her  confessor,  to  such  a  degree,  that  ha 
gave  her  a  scapulary.  After  he  had  given  it,  however, 
one  of  the  saints  in  heaven  informed  him  in  a  vision. 


BLACK    NUNNERT. 


89 


that  tlie  holy  scapulary  must  not  remain  on  the 
neck  of  so  great  a  sinner  ;  and  that  it  must  be  res- 
tored to  the  church.  She  lay  down  that  night  with 
the  scapulary  round  her  throat ;  but  in  the  morning 
was  found  dead,  with  her  head  cut  off]  and  the  scapu- 
lary was  discovered  in  the  church.  The  belief  was, 
that  the  devil  could  not  endure  to  have  so  holy  a 
thing  on  one  of  his  servants,  and  had  pulled  so  hard 
to  get  it  ofti  as  to  draw  the  silken  thread  with  which 
it  was  tied,  through  her  neck ;  after  which  by  some 
divine  power  it  was  restored  to  the  church. 

Another  story  was  as  follows.  A  poor  Roman 
Catholic  was  once  taken  prisoner  by  the  heretics. 
He  had  a  sainte  scapulairt  on  his  neck,  when 
God  seeing  him  in  the  midst  of  his  foes,  took  it  from 
his  neck  by  a  miracle,  and  held  it  up  in  the  air  above 
the  throng  of  heretics ;  more  than  one  hundred  of 
who.n  were  converted,  by  seeing  it  thus  superna- 
rurally  suspended. 

I  had  been  informed  by  the  Superior,  on  my  first 
admission  as  a  nun,  that  there  was  a  subterraneous 
passage,  leading  from  the  cellar  of  our  Convent,  in- 
to that  of  the  Congregational  Nunnery ;  but,  though 
I  had  so  often  visited  the  cellar,  I  had  never  seen  it. 
One  day,  after  I  had  been  received  three  or  four 
months,  I  was  sent  to  walk  through  it  on  my  knees 
with  another  nun,  as  a  penance.  This,  and  other 
penances,  were  sometimes  put  upon  us  by  the  priests, 
without  any  reason  assigned.  The  common  way, 
indeed,  was  to  tell  us  of  the  sin  for  which  a  penance 
was  imposed,  but  we  were  left  many  times  to  conjec- 


?1>: ;!  % 


w ,) 


'■  li 


I   1' 


^  \ 


\ : 


•h:im' 


' . 


'h 


»  ui- 


■  ■  '■  (i 


^ 


BLACK    KUK5ERY. 


I?  <  «j 


111;        . 


U    > 


'^ 


CI 


'i: 


■i  ? 

1     V 

■»  - 

V 

■!rc 

in:  , 

1: 

:  i 

i^-'N 


'ftf 


.  \ 


t 


'!r  i: 


ture.  Now  and  then  the  priests  would  inform  us  at 
a  subsequent  confession,  when  he  happened  to  re- 
collect something  about  it,  as  I  thought,  and  not 
because  he  reflected,  or  cared  much  about  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  nun  wbo  was  with  me  led  me  through  the 
cellar,  passing  to  the  right  of  the  secret  burying- 
place,  and  showed  me  the  door  of  the  subterraneous 
passage,  which  was  at  the  extremity  towards  the 
Congregational  Nunnery.    The  reasons  why  I  had 
not  noticed  it  before,  I  presume  were,  that  it  was 
made  to  shut  close  and  even  with  the  wall,  and  all 
that  part  of  the  cellar  was  whitewashed.     The  door, 
which  is  of  wood,  and  square,  opens  with  a  latch 
into  a  passage,  about  four  feet  and  a  half  high. 
We  immediately  got  upon  our  knees,  commenced 
saying  the  prayers  required,  and  began  to  move 
slowly  along  the  dark  und  narrow  passage.     It 
may  be   fifty  or  sixty  feet   in  length;    when  we 
reached  the  end,  we  opened  a  door,  and  found  our- 
selves in  the  cellar  of  the  Congregational  Nunnery, 
at  some  distance  from  the  outer  wall ;  for  the  cov- 
ered way  is  carried  in  towards  the  middle  of  the 
cellar  by  two  low  partitions  covered  at  the  top.    By 
the  side  of  the  door,  was  placed  a  list  of  names  of 
the  Black  nuns,  with  a  slide,  that  might  be  drawn 
over  any  of  them.     We  covered  our  names  in 
this  manner,  as  evidence  of  having  performed  the 
duty  assigned  us;   and  then  returned  backwards 
on  our  knees,  by  the  way  we  had  come.     This 
penance  I  repeatedly  performed  afterwards;  and 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


91 


by  ifiis  way,  as  I  have  occasion  elscAvhere  to  rnett* 
lion,  nuns  from  the  Congregational  Nunnery,  some- 
times entered  our  Convent  for  worse  purposes. 

We  were  frequently  assured,  that  miracles  are 
still  performed ;  and  pains  were  taken  to  impress  us 
deeply  on  this  subject.  The  Superior  often  spoke 
to  us  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  pincushion,  the  remains 
of  which  it  is  pretended  a.  j  preserved  in  the  Con- 
vent, though  it  has  crumbled  quite  to  dust.  We  re- 
garded this  relic  with  such  veneration,  that  we  were 
afraia  even  to  look  a*  it,  and  we  often  heard  the  follow- 
ing story  related,  when  the  subject  was  introduced. 

A  pi  iest  in  Jerusalem  once  had  a  vision,  in  which 
he  was  informed  that  the  house  in  which  the  Virgin 
had  lived,  should  be  removed  from  its  foundations, 
and  transported  to  a  distance.  He  did  not  think  the 
communication  was  from  God,  and  therefore  disre- 
garded '  it ;  but  the  house  was  soon  after  missed, 
which  convinced  him  that  the  vision  was  true, 
and  he  told  where  the  house  might  be  found.  A 
picture  of  the  house  is  preserved  in  the  Nunnery, 
and  was  sometimes  shown  us.  There  are  also  wax 
figures  of  Joseph  sawing  wood,  and  Jesus,  as  a  child, 
picking  up  the  chips.  We  were  taught  to  sing  a 
little  song  relating  to  this,  the  chorus  of  which  I 
remember: 

"  Saint  Joseph  charpentier, 
Petit  Jesus  ramassait  lea  copeaux 
Pour  fair  bouillir  la  marmite." 

St.  Joseph  was  a  carpenter,  little  Jesus  collected 
chips  to  make  the  pot  boil 


t\A-. 


■       1': 


} 


4    ■      :        ♦ 


,     I 


'       I 


.;lt|';; 


^  ' 


i 

if 

8 


(If 


5     * 

p     1      .» 

('         i 

1          , 

f 

i. 

h 

§-* 

1 

[ 

n, 

) 

Mf 

!     1 

^       . 

^      i         i 

V       f 

"lay 


92 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I  began  to  speak  of  miracles,  and  1  recollect  a 
story  of  one,  about  a  family  in  Italy  saved  from 
shipwreck  by  a  priest,  who  were  in  consequence 
converted,  and  had  two  sons  honoured  with  the 
priest's  office. 

I  had  heard  before  I  entered  the  Convent,  about 
a  great  fire  which  destroyed  a  number  of  houses  in 
the  Quebec  suburbs,  aiid  which  some  said  the 
Bishop  extinguished  with  holy  water.  I  once 
heard  a  Catholic  and  a  Protestant  disputing  on  this 
subject,  and  when  I  went  to  the  Congregational 
Nunnery,  I  sometimes  heard  the  children,  alluding 
to  the  same  story,  say  at  an  alarm  of  fire,  **  Is  it  a 
Catholic  fire?  Then  why  does  not  the  Bishop 
run  ?" 

Among  the  topics  on  which  the  Bishop  addressed 
the  nuns  in  the  Convent,  this  was  one.  He  told  us 
the  story  one  day,  and  said  he  could  have  sooner  in- 
terfered and  stopped  the  flames,  but  that  at  last,  find- 
ing they  were  about  to  destroy  too  many  Catholic 
houses,  he  threw  holy  water  on  the  fire,  and  ex- 
tinguished it.  I  believed  this,  and  also  thought  that 
he  was  able  to  put  out  any  fire,  but  that  he  never 
did  it,  except  when  inspired. 

The  holy  water  which  the  Bishop  has  conse- 
crated, was  considered  much  more  efficacious,  than 
any  blessed  by  a  common  priest;  and  this  it  was 
which  was  used  in  the  Convent  in  sprinkling  our 
beds.  It  iiad  virtue  in  it,  to  keep  off  any  evil 
spirits. 

Now  that  I  was  a  nun,  I  was  occasionally  sent 


BLACK   NUNNER7. 


93 


to  read  lectures  to  the  novices,  as  other  nuns  had 
been  while  I  was  a  novice.  There  were  but  few 
of  us,  who  were  thought  capable  of  reading  Eng- 
lish well  enough,  and  therefore,  I  was  more  fre- 
quently sent  than  I  might  otherwise  have  been. 
The  Superior  often  said  to  me,  as  I  was  going 
among  the  novices : 

"  Try  to  convert  them — save  their  souls — you 
know  you  will  have  a  higher  place  in  heaven  for 
«very  one  you  convert." 

For  whatever  reason,  Mad  Jane  Ray  seemed  to 
lake  great  delight  in  crossing  and  provoking  the 
Superior  and  old  nuns ;  and  often  she  would  cause 
an  inlerruption  when  it  was  most  inconvenient  and 
displeasing  to  them.  The  preservation  of  silence 
was  insisted  upon  most  rigidly,  and  penances  of 
such  a  nature  were  imposed  for  breaking  it,  that  it 
was  a  constant  source  of  uneasiness  with  me,  to 
know  that  I  might  infringe  the  rules  in  so  many 
ways,  and  that  inattention  might  at  any  moment 
subject  me  to  something  very  unpleasant.  During 
the  periods  of  meditation,  therefore,  and  those  of 
lecture,  work,  and  repose,  1  kept  a  strict  guard  upon 
myself,  to  escape  penances,  as  well  as  to  avoid  sin ; 
and  the  silence  of  the  other  nuns,  convinced  mo 
that  they  were  equally  watchful,  and  from  the  same 
motives. 

My  feelings,  however,  varied  at  different  times» 
and  so  did  those  of  many,  if  not  all  my  companions, 
excepting  the  older  ones,  who  took  their  turns  in 
watching  us.      We  sometimes    felt   disposed  for 


?!' 


);' 


»  in 


t 


!i' 


1 1- 


!li, 


h* 


rd 


I 


H 


li 


\ 


11   ■ 

hi '  '  !' 


I  \ 


1:     " 


i  y 


i 

c 


!       I 


94 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


C^aiety,  and  threw  off  all  ideas  that  talking  was 
sinful,  even  when  fobidden  by  the  rules  of  the 
Convent.  And  even  when  I  felt  that  I  might  per- 
haps be  doing  wrong,  I  reflected  that  confession,  and 
certainly  penance,  yv'ould  soon  wipe  off  the  guilt. 

I  may  remark  here,  that  I  ere  long  found  out 
several  things,  important  to  be  known,  to  a  person 
living  under  such  rules.  One  of  these  was,  that  it 
was  much  better  to  confess  to  a  priest,  a  sin  com- 
mitted against  the  rules,  because  he  would  not  re- 
quire one  of  the  penances  I  most  disliked,  viz. : 
those  which  exposed  me  to  the  observation  of  the 
nuns,  or  which  demanded  self-debasement  before 
them,  like  begging  their  pardon,  kissing  the  floor, 
or  the  Superior's  feet,  &c.,  and,  besides,  he  as  a  con- 
fessor was  said  to  be  bound  to  secrecy,  and  could 
not  inform  the  Superior  against  me.  My  conscience 
being  as  effectually  unburthened  by  my  confession 
to  the  priest,  as  I  had  been  taught  to  believe,  I  there- 
fore preferred  not  to  tell  my  sins  to  any  one  else  j 
and  this  course  I  found  was  preferred  by  others  for 
the  same  good  reasons. 

To  Jane  Ray,  however,  it  sometimes  appeared  to 
be  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference,  who  knew  her 
violations  of  rule,  or  to  what  penances  she  exposed 
herse|| 

Often  and  often,  while  perfect  silence  prevailed 
among  the  nuns,  at  meditation,  or  while  nothing 
was  to  be  heard  except  the  voice  of  the  reader 
appointed  for  the  day,  no  matter  whose  life  or 
writings  were  presented  for  our  contemplations 


':M 


'ft  -' 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


95 


Jane  would  break  forth  with  some  remark  or  ques- 
tion, that  would  attract  general  attention,  and  often 
cause  a  long  and  totjrl  interruption.  Sometimes  she 
A'ou Id  make  some  harmless  remark  or  inquiry 
aloud,  as  if  through  mere  inadvertency,  and  then 
her  loud  and  well  known  voice,  so  strongly  as- 
sociated with  every  thing  singular  and  ridiculous, 
would  arrest  the  attention  of  us  all,  and  generally 
incline  us  to  smile,  and  even  force  us  to  laugh.  The 
Superior  would  then  usually  utter  some  hasty  re- 
monstrance, and  many  a  time  I  have  heard  her 
pronounce  some  penance  upon  her ;  but  Jane  had 
ever  some  apology  ready,  or  some  reply  calculated 
to  irritate  still  farther,  or  to  prove  to  every  one,  that 
no  punishment  would  be  effectual  on  her.  Some- 
times this  singular  woman  would  appear  to  be  ac- 
tuated by  opposite  feelings  and  motives ;  for  although 
she  usually  delighted  in  drawing  others  into  dif- 
ficulty, and  has  thrown  many  a  severe  penance 
even  upon  her  greatest  favourites,  on  other  occa- 
sions she  appeared  totally  regardless  of  consequences 
herself,  and  preferred  to  take  all  the  blame,  anxious 
only  to  shield  others. 

I  have  repeatedly  known  her  to  break  silence  in 
the  community,  as  if  she  had  no  object,  or  none 
beyond  that  of  causing  disturbance,  or  exciting  a 
smile,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  noticed,  exclaim :  "  Say 
it's  me,  say  it's  me  I" 

Sometimes  she  would  even  expose  herself  to 
punishments  in  place  of  another  who  was  guilty ; 
and  thus  I  found  it  difficult  fully  to  understand  her. 


I  u  ■ 


',  1 


^■i 


r^"^! 


•i 


f'    K 


111 
1  ^n 


I 


\^-. 


Wi 


^r    ' 


I'  ; 


If 


' ',  l 


^'l-IW 


i  ■  i 


.i 


:  ■  f^ 

■    ft'- 1  '■ '.' 


06 


BLACK  NUNNRRY. 


In  some  cases  she  seemed  decidedly  out  of  her  wits, 
as  the  Superior  and  priests  commonly  preferred  to 
represent  her;  but  generally*  I  saw  in  her  what 
prevented  me  from  accounting  her  insane. 

Among  her  most  common  tricks  were  such  as 
these  :  She  gave  me  the  name  of  the  "  ]  /evout 
English  Reader,"  because  I  was  often  appointed  to 
make  the  lecture  to  the  English  girls ;  and  some- 
times, after  taking  a  seat  near  me,  under  pretenco 
of  deafness,  would  whisper  it  in  my  hearing,  be- 
cause she  knew  my  want  of  self-command  when 
excited  to  laughter.  Thus  she  often  exposed  me  tc 
penances  for  a  breach  of  decorum,  and  set  me  to 
biting  my  lips,  to  avoid  laughing  outright  in  the 
midst  of  a  solemn  lecture.  **  Oh  !  you  devout  Eng- 
lish Reader !"  would  sometimes  came  upon  me  sud- 
dently  from  her  lips,  with  something  in  it  so  ludi- 
crous that  I  had  to  exert  myself  to  the  utmost  to 
avoid  observation. 

This  came  so  often  at  one  time,  that  I  grew  un- 
easy, and  told  her  I  must  confess  it,  to  unburden 
my  conscience ;  I  had  not  done  so  before,  because 
she  would  complain  of  me,  for  giving  way  to  temp- 
tation. 

Sometimes  she  would  pass  behind  us  as  we  stood 
at  dinner  ready  to  sit  down,  and  softly  moving  back 
our  chairs,  leave  us  to  fall  down  upon  the  floor. 
This  she  repeatedly  has  done ;  and  while  we  were 
laughing  together,  she  would  spring  forward,  kneel 
to  the  Superior,  and  beg  her  pardon  and  a  penance. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Alarming  Order  from  the  Superior— Proceed  to  execute  it-— 
Scene  in  an  upper  Room— Sentence  of  Deaths  and  AJurdei'— 
My  own  distress— Reports  made  to  friends  of  St.  Fhancis, 

But  I  must  now  come  to  one  deed,  in  which  I 
had  some  part,  and  which  I  look  back  upon  with 
greater  horror  and  pain,  than  any  occurrences  in 
the  Convent,  in  which  I  was  not  the  principal 
sufferer.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  attempt  to 
excuse  myself  in  this  or  any  other  case.  Those 
who  have  any  disposition  to  judge  fairly,  Avill  exer- 
cise their  own  judgment  in  making  allowances  for 
me,  under  the  fear  and  force,  the  commands  and 
examples,  around  me.  I,  therefore,  shall  confine 
myself,  as  usual,  to  the  simple  narrative  of  facts. 
The  time  was  about  five  months  after  I  took  the 
veil ;  the  Weather  was  cool,  perhaps  in  Septem- 
ber  or  October.  One  day,  the  Superior  sent  for 
me  and  several  other  nuns,  to  receive  her  com- 
mands at  a  particulrr  room.  We  found  the  Bishop 
and  some  priests  with  her;  and  speaking  in  an  un- 
usual tone  of  fierceness  and  authority,  she  said, 
"Go  to  the  room  for  the  Examination  of  Conscience, 
and  drag  Saint  Francis  up-stairs."  Nothing  more 
was  necessary  than  this  unusual  command,  with  the 
tone  and  manner  which  accompanied  it,  to  excite  in 
jne  most  gloomy  anticijpations.     It  did  not  strike  me 


II 


•'    liil. 


: 


1 


1 


li 


PI 


f  ^1  '  ^  1 


^!  ! 


\\ 


w 

" 

1         ' 

1   ;     ' 

i 

,    1 

i'^' 

\  ^  •  '  \ 

i 

i: 

1 
.        ■     1 

i 

» 

! 

;.  >   i 

I 

';  "     ' 

t 

,  J'    1  ■? 

1  '■< 

i 

?           i 

■('  ,      » 

l'^    hU: 

1       '"t     ■' 

t  ■- ' '  '■  y 

'■  .i    i 

» 

^ 

;1 

98 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


as  strange,  that  St.  Francis  should  be  in  the  room  to 
which  the  Superior  directed  us.     It  was  an  apart- 
ment  to  which  we  were  often  sent  to  prepare  for  the 
communion,  and  to   which  we   voluntarily   went, 
whenever  we  felt    the    compunctions   which   our 
ignorance  of  duty,  and  the  misinstructions  we  re- 
ceived, inclined  us  to  seek  relief  from  self-reproach. 
Indeed,  I  had  seen  her  there  a  little  before.     What 
terrified  mo  was,  first,  the  Superior's  angry  manner ; 
second,  the  expression  she  used,  being  a  French 
term,  whose  peculiar  use  I  had  learnt  in  the  Con 
vent,  and  whose  meaning  is  rather  softened  when 
translated  into  drag ;  third,  the  place  to  which  we 
were  directed  to  take  the  interesting  young  nun,  and 
the  persons  assembled  there  as  I  supposed  to  con. 
demn  her.     My  fears  were  such,  concerning  the  fate 
that  awaited  her,  and  my  horror  at  the  idea  that  she 
was  in  some  way  to  be  sacrificed,  that  I  would  have 
given  any  thing  to  be  allowed  to  stay  where  I  was. 
But  I  feared  the  consequences  of  disobeying  the 
Superior,  and  proceeded  with  the  rest  towards  the 
room  for  the  examination  of  conscience. 

The  room  to  which  we  were  to  proceed  from  that, 
was  in  the  second  story,  and  the  place  of  many  a 
scene  of  a  shameful  nature.  It  is  sufficient  for  me 
to  say,  after  what  I  have  said  in  other  parts  of  this 
book,  that  things  had  there  occurred  which  made 
me  regard  the  place  with  the  greatest  disgust. 
Saint  Francis  had  appeared  melancholy  for  some 
time.  I  well  knew  that  she  had  cause,  for  she  had 
been  repeatedly  subject  to  trials  which  I  need  not 


}•  .V' 


BLACK  NUNNERT. 


gp 


room  to 
1  apart- 
for  the 

went, 
:h  our 
we  re- 
3roach. 

What 
anner; 
Trench 
e  Con 

when 
ich  we 
iin,  and 
to  con- 
^he  fate 
hat  she 
d  have 
I  was. 
ig  the 
rds  the 

m  that, 
lany  a 
for  me 
)f  this 

made 
isgust. 

some 
le  had 
id»not 


I 


name— our  common  lot.     When  we  reached  the 
room  where  we  had  been  bidden  to  seek  her,  I  en- 
tered the  door,  my  companions  standing  behind  me, 
as  the  place  was  so  small  as  hardly  to  hold  five  per- 
sons at  a  time.     The  young  nun  was  standing 
alone,  near  the  middle  of  the  room;  she  was  proba- 
bly about  twenty,  with  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  a 
very  fair  complexion.     I  spoke  to  her  in  a  compas- 
sionate voice,  but  at  the  same  time  with  such   a 
decided  manner,  that  she  comprehended  my  full 
meaning — 
"Saint  Francis,  we  are  sent  for  you." 
Several  others  spoke  kindly  to  her,  but  two  ad- 
dressed her  very  harshly.     The  poor  creature  turn- 
ed round  with  a  look  of  meekness,  and  without  ex- 
pressing any  unwillingness  or  fear,  without  even 
speaking  a  word,  resigned  herself  to  our  hands* 
The  tears  came  into  my  eyes.     I  had  not  a  mo* 
ment's  doubt  that  she  considered  her  fate  as  sealed, 
and   was  already  beyond  the  fear  of  death.     She 
was  conducted,  or  rather  hurried  to  the  staircase, 
which  was  near  by,  and  then  seized  by  her  limbs 
and  clothes,  and  in  fact  almost  dragged  up-stairs,  in 
the  sense  the  Superior  had  intended.     I  laid  my  own 
hands  wpon  her — I  took  hold  of  her  too, — more 
gently  indeed  than  some  of  the  rest ;  yet  I  encou- 
raged and  assisted  them  in  carrying  her.     I  could 
not  avoid  it.     My  refusal  would  not  have  saved  her, 
nor  prevented  her  being  carried  up ;  it  would  only 
have  exposed  me  to  some  severe  punishment,  as  I 


\ 


'    Ya 


:    \ 


I    I 


'   M 


« ■;  'i  (■ 


r    ,     i     ,  .« 


^'i 


■■t 


!i 


w 


*■ ,  'f , 


100 


BLACK  NUNNEHir. 


believed  some  of  my  companions  would  have  seized 
the  first  opportunity  to  complain  of  me. 

All  the  way  up  the  staircase,  Saint  Francis  spoko 
not  a  word,  nor  made  the  slightest  resistanco. 
When  we  entered  with  her  the  room  to  which  she 
was  ordered,  my  heart  sunk  within  me.  Tho 
Bishop,  the  Lady  Superior,  and  five  priests,  viz. 
Bonin,  Richards,  Savage,  and  two  others,  I  now  as- 
certained, were  assembled  for  her  trial,  on  some 
charge  of  great  importance. 

When  we  had  brought  our  prisoner  before  them, 
Father  Ricliards  began  to  question  her,  and  she 
made  ready  but  calm  replies.     I  cannot  pretend  to 
give  a  connected  account  of  what  ensued :  my  feel- 
ings were  wrought  up  to  such  a  pitch,  that  I  knew 
not  what  I  did,  nor  what  to  do.     I  was  under  a  terri- 
ble apprehension  that,  if  I  betrayed  the   feelings 
which  almost  overcame  me,  I  should  fall  under  the 
displeasure  of  the  cold-blooded  persecutors  of  my 
poor  innocent  sister ;  and  this  fear  on  the  one  hand, 
with  the  distress  I  felt  for  her  on  the  other,  render- 
ed me  almost  frantic.     As  soon  as  I  entered  the 
room,  I  had  stepped  into  a  corner,  on  the  left  of  the 
entrance,  where  I  might  partially  support  myself, 
hy  leaning  against  the  wall,  between  the  door  and 
window.     This  support  was  all  that  prevented  me 
from  falling  to  the  floor,  for  the  confusion  of  my 
thoughts  was  so  great,  that  only  a  few  of  the  words 
I  heard  spoken  on  either  side  made  any  lasting  im- 
pression upon  me.     I  felt  as  if  struck  with  some  in. 
.supportable  blow ;  and  death  would  not  have  been 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


101 


more  frightful  to  me.  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief, 
that  Father  Richards  wished  to  shield  the  poor  pris- 
oner from  the  severity  of  her  fate»  by  drawing  from 
her  expressions  that  might  bear  a  favourable  con- 
struction. He  asked  her,  among  other  things,  if 
she  was  not  sorry  for  what  she  had  been  overheard 
to  say,  (for  she  had  been  betrayed  by  one  of  the 
nuns,)  and  if  she  would  not  prefer  confinement  in 
the  cells,  to  the  punishment  which  was  threatened 
her.  But  the  Bishop  soon  interrupted  him,  and  it 
was  easy  to  perceive,  that  he  considered  her  fate  as 
sealed,  and  was  determined  she  should  not  escape. 
In  reply  to  some  of  the  questions  put  to  her,  she  was 
silent;  to  others  I  heard  her  voice  reply  that  she  did 
not  repent  of  words  she  had  uttered,  though  they 
had  been  reported  by  some  of  the  nuns  who  had 
heard  them;  that  she  still  wished  to  escape  from 
the  Convent;  and  that  she  had  firmly  resolved  to 
resist  every  attempt  to  compel  her  to  the  commission 
of  crimes  which  she  detested.  She  added,  that  she 
would  rather  die  than  cause  the  murder  of  harmless 
babes. 

"  That  is  enough,  finish  her!"  said  the  Bishop. 

Two  nuns  instantly  fell  upon  the  young  woman, 
and  in  obedience  to  directions,  given  by  the  Supe 
rior,  prepared  to  execute  her  sentence. 

She  still  maintained  all  the  calmness  and  submis- 
sion of  a  lamb.  Some  of  those  who  took  part  in 
this  transaction,  I  believe,  were  as  unwilling  as  my- 
self; but  of  others  I  can  safely  say,  that  I  believe 
they  delighted  in  it.     Their  conduct  certainly  ex- 


'» 


u 


:; 


! 


^  V 


if 


II 


n 


-!) 


.1 ' 


ii 


102 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


'^  t  m 


^    V   i;. 

'  r 


Iv'i: 


I    :j 


,5   ,1  ■■ 


hibited  a  most  blood-thirsty  spirit.    But,  above  all 
others  present,  and  above  all  human  fiends  I  ever 
saw,  I  think  Saint  Hypolite  was  the  most  diaboli- 
cal.    She  engaged  in  the  horrid  task  with  all  alac 
rity,  and  assumed  from  choice  the  most  revolting 
parts  to  be  performed.     She  seized  a  gag,  forced  it 
into  the  mouth  of  the  poor  nun,  and  when  it  was 
fixed  between  her  extended  jaws,  so  as  to  keep  them 
open  at  their  greatest  possible  distance,  took  hold  of 
the  straps  fastened  at  each  end  of  the  stick,  crossed 
them  behind  the  helpless  head  of  the  victim,  and 
drew  them  tight  through  the  loop  prepared  as  a 
fastening. 

The  bed  which  had  always  stood  in  one  part  of 
the  room,  still  remained  there ;  though  the  screen, 
which  had  usually  been  placed  before  it,  and  was 
made  of  thick  muslin,  with  only  a  crevice  through 
which  a  person  behind  might  look  out,  had  been 
folded  up  on  its  hinges  in  the  form'  of  a  W,  and 
placed  in  a  corner.  On  the  bed  the  prisoner  was 
laid  with  her  face  upward,  and  then  bound  with 
cords,  so  that  she  could  not  move.  In  an  instant 
another  bed  was  thrown  upon  her.  One  of  the 
priests,  named  Bonin,  sprung  like  a  fury  first  upon 
it,  and  stamped  upon  it,  with  all  his  force.  He  was 
speedily  followed  by  the  nuns,  until  there  were  as 
many  upon  the  bed  as  could  find  room,  and  all  did 
what  they  could,  not  only  to  smother,  but  to  bruise 
her.  Some  stood  up  and  jumped  upon  the  poor  girl 
with  their  feet,  some  with  their  knees,  and  others  in 
different  ways  seemed  to  seek  how  they  might  beat 


!/ 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


103 


beat  the  breath  out  of  her  body,  and  mangle  it,  with- 
out coming  in  direct  contact  with  it,  or  seeing  the 
effects  of  their  violence.  During  this  time,  my 
feelings  were  almost  too  strong  to  be  endured.  I 
felt  stupified,  and  scarcely  was  conscious  of  what  I 
did.  Still,  fear  for  myself  remained  in  a  sufficient 
degree  to  induce  me  to  some  exertion,  and  I  attempt- 
ed to  talk  to  those  who  stood  next,  partly  that  I 
might  have  an  excuse  for  turning  away  from  the 
dreadful  scene. 

After  the  lapse  of  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  and 
when  it  was  presumed  that  the  sufferer  had  been 
smothered,  and  crushed  to  death.  Father  Benin 
and  the  nuns  ceased  to  trample  upon  her,  and  step- 
ped from  the  bed.  All  was  motionless  and  silent 
beneath  it. 

They  then  began  to  laugh  at  such  inhuman 
thoughts  as  occurred  to  some  of  them,  rallying 
each  other  in  the  most  unfeeling  manner,  and  ridi- 
culing me  for  the  feelings  which  I  in  vain  en- 
deavoured to  conceal.  They  alluded  to  the  resigna- 
tion of  our  murdered  companion,  and  one  of  them 
tauntingly  said,  "She  would  have  made  a  good 
Catholic  martyr."  After  spending  some  moments 
in  such  conversation,  one  of  them  asked  if  the 
corpse  should  be  removed.  The  Superior  said  it 
had  b(«ter  remain  a  little  while.  After  waiting  a 
short  time  longer,  the  feather-bed  was  taken  off;  the 
cords  unloosed,  and  the  body  taken  by  the  nuns  and 
dragged  down  stairs.  I  was  informed  that  it  was 
taken  into  the  cellar,  and  thrown  unceromoniouflly 


<  t 


U 


ni;i 


f 


i;iM 


i'.l! 


■     ! 


-  ;r 


104 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


, '  ( 


\ 

1 

'':    \ 

i    ■ 

i. 

i 

^1 

tlUl 


•a 


!  : '  I  '^  I T  ■ 


Jnto  the  hole  which  I  have  already  described, 
covered  with  a  great  quantity  of  lime,  and  after- 
ward sprinkled  with  a  liquid,  of  the  properties  and 
name  of  which  I  am  ignorant.  This  liquid  I  have 
seen  poured  into  the  hole  from  Jarge  bottles,  after 
the  necks  were  broken  off,  and  have  heard  that  it  is 
used  in  France  to  prevent  the  effluvia  rising  from 
cemeteries. 

I  did  not  soon  recover  from  the  shock  caused  by 
this  scene ;  indeed  it  still  recurs  to  me,  with  most 
gloomy  impressions.  The  next  day  there  was  a 
melancholy  aspect  over  every  thing,  and  recreation- 
time  passed  in  the  dullest  manner;  scarcely  any 
thing  was  said  above  a  whisper. 

I  never  heard  much  said  afterward  about  Saint 
Francis. 

I  spoke  with  one  of  the  nuns,  a  few  words,  one 
day,  but  we  were  all  cautioned  not  to  expose  our- 
selves very  far,  and  could  not  place  much  reliance 
in  each  other.  The  murdered  nun  had  been  brought 
to  her  shocking  end  through  the  treachery  of  one  of 
our  number,  in  whom  she  confided. 

I  never  knew  with  certainty  who  had  reported 
her  remarks  to  the  Superior,  but  suspicion  fastened 
on  one,  and  I  never  could  regard  her  but  with  de- 
testation. 

I  >vas  more  inclined  to  blame  her  than  some  of 
those  employed  in  the  execution ;  for  there  could 
have  been  no  necessity  for  the  betrayal  of  her  feel- 
ings. We  all  knew  how  to  avoid  exposing  each 
other. 


''*j^  lit  H 


^ — 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


105 


I  was  often  sent  by  the  Superior  to  overhear  what 
was  said  by  novices  and  nuns :  when  they  seemed 
to  shun  her,  she  would  say,  "Go  and  listen,  they 
are  speaking  English  ;"  and  though  I  obeyed  her, 
I  never  informed  her  against  them.  If  I  wished  to 
clear  my  conscience,  I  would  go  to  a  priest,  and 
confess,  knowing  that  he  dared  not  communicate 
what  I  said  to  any  person,  and  that  he  would  not 
impose  as  heavy  penances  as  the  Superior. 

We  were  always  at  liberty  to  choose  another  con- 
fessor when  we  had  any  sin  to  confess,  which  we 
were  unwilling  to  tell  one,  to  whom  we  should 
otherwise  have  gone. 

Not  long  after  the  murder  just  related,  a  young 
woman  came  to  the  nunnery,  and  asked  for  permis- 
sion to  see  Saint  Francis.  It  was  my  former  friend, 
with  whom  I  had  been  as  an  assistant  teacher.  Miss 
Louise  Bousquet,  of  St.  Denis.  From  this,  I  sup- 
posed the  murdered  nun  might  have  come  from  that 
town,  or  its  vicinity.  The  only  answer  returned  to 
the  inquiry  was,  that  Saint  Francis  was  dead. 

Some  time  afterward,  some  of  St.  Francis'  friends 
called  to  inquire  after  her,  and  they  were  told  that 
she  had  died  a  glorious  death ;  and  further  told,  that 
she  made  some  heavenly  expressions,  which  were 
repeated,  in  order  to  satisfy  her  friends. 


t  ; 


■i1 


:•■'.' 


.iriii 


;;  i  it 


Mil". 


ii  i 


^^  I 


,     1 

\ 

■    \   I 

i 

.  1 

i 

i 

'1 

; 

' '  ( 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Description  of  the  Room  of  the  Three  States,  and  the  Picture* 
in  it- Jane  Ray  ridiculing  Priests— Their  criminal  Treat' 
ment  of  us  at  Confession— Jane  Ray's  Tricks  with  the  Numf 
Aprons,  Handkerchiefs,  and  Nightgowns— Apples. 

The  pictures  in  the  room  of  the  Three  States 
were  large,  and  painted  by  some  artist  who  under- 
stood how  to  make  horrible  ones.  They  appeared 
to  be  stuck  to  the  walls.  The  light  is  admitted 
from  small  and  high  windows,  which  are  curtained, 
and  is  rather  faint,  so  as  to  make  every  thing  look 
gloomy.  The  story  told  us  was,  that  they  were 
painted  by  an  artist,  to  whom  God  had  given  power 
to  represent  things  exactly  as  they  are  in  heaven, 
hell,  and  purgatory. 

In  heaven,  the  picture  of  which  hangs  on  one  side 
of  the  apartment,  multitudes  of  nuns  and  priests  are 
put  in  the  highest  places,  with  the  Virgin  Mary  at 
the  head,  St.  Peter  and  other  saints  far  above  the 
great  numbers  of  good  Catholics  of  other  classes, 
who  were  crowded  in  below. 

In  purgatory  are  multitudes  of  people ;  and  in  one 
part,  called  '^  The  place  of  lambs,^^  are  infants  who 
died  unbaptized.  "  The  place  of  darkness,^^  is  that 
part  of  purgatory  in  which  adults  are  collected;  and 
there  they  are  surrounded  with  flanges,  waiting  to 
be  delivered  by  the  prayers  of  the  living. 

In  hell,  the  picture  of  which,  and  that  of  purga- 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


lOT 


t  .1 


tory,  were  on  the  wall  opposite  that  of  heaven,  the 
human  faces  were  the  njost  horrible  that  can  be 
imagined.  Persons  of  different  descriptions  were 
represented,  with  the  most  distorted  features,  ghastly 
complexions,  and  every  variety  of  dreadful  expres- 
sion ;  some  with  vvild  beasts  gnawing  at  their  heads, 
others  furiously  biting  the  iron  bars  which  kept 
them  in,  with  looks  which  could  not  fail  to  make  a 
spectator  shudder. 

I  could  hardly  persuade  myself  that  the  figures 
were  not  living,  and  the  impression  they  made  on 
.  my  feelings  was  powerful.  I  was  often  show^n  the 
place  where  nuns  go  who  break  their  vows,  as  a 
warning.  It  is  the  hottest  place  in  hell,  and  worse, 
in  every  point  of  view,  even  than  that  to  which  all 
Protestants  are  assigned;  because  they  are  not  so 
much  to  be  blamed,  as  we  were  sometimes  assured, 
as  their  ministers  and  the  Bible,  by  which  they  are 
perverted. 

Whenever  I  was  shut  in  that  room,  as  I  was  sev- 
eral times,  I  prayed  for  "  les  ames  dcs  fideles  tre- 
passes  :"  the  souls  of  those  faithful  ones  who  have 
long  been  in  purgatory,  and  have  no  relations  living 
to  pray  for  them. 

My  feelings  were  often  of  the  most  painful  de 
scription,  while  I  remained  alone  with  those  fright- 
ful pictures. 

Jane  Ray  was  once  put  in,  and  uttered  \\  a  most 
dreadful  shrieks.  Some  of  the  old  nunr,  proposed 
tp  the  Superior  to  have  her  gagged :  "  I\o,"  she  re- 


,  ( 


» , 


;  1 


t  .1 


i  :M#'i' 


h-  ■■i\ 


n'\n 


'■  t 


1     :     ' 


108 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


plied ;  '*  go  and  let  out  that  devil,  she  makes  me  sin 
more  than  all  the  rest." 

Jane  could  not  endure  the  place ;  and  she  after^ 
ward  gave  names  to  many  of  the  worst  figures  in 
the  pictures.  On  catechism-days  she  would  take  & 
seat  behind  a  cupboard-door,  where  the  priest  could 
not  see  her,  while  she  faced  the  nuns,  and  would 
make  us  laugh.  "  You  are  not  so  attentive  to  your 
lesson  as  you  used  to  be,"  he  would  begin  to  say, 
while  we  were  endeavouring  to  suppress  our 
laughter. 

Jane  would  then  hold  up  the  first  letter  of  some 
priest's  name,  whom  she  had  before  compared  with 
one  of  the  faces  in  "  hell,"  and  look  so  that  we 
could  hardly  preserve  our  gravity.  I  remember 
she  named  the  wretch  who  was  biting  at  the  bars 
of  bell,  with  a  serpent  gnawing  his  head,  wilh 
chains  and  padlocks  on,  Father  Dufresne ;  and  she 
would  say — "  Does  not  he  look  like  him,  when  he 
comes  in  to  Catechism  with  his  long  solemn  face, 
and  begins  his  speeches  with,  '  My  children,  my 
hope  is,  you  have  lived  very  devout  lives  T  " 

The  first  time  1  went  to  confession  after  taking 
the  veil,  I  found  abundant  evidence  that  the  priests 
did  not  treat  even  that  ceremony,  which  is  called  a 
solemn  sacrament,  with  respect  enough  to  lay  aside 
the  detestable  and  shameless  character  they  so  often 
showed  on  other  occasions.  The  confessor  some- 
times 5at  in  the  room  for  the  examination  of  con- 
science, and  sometimes  in  the  Superior's  room,  and 
*iilwajs.  alone,  except  the  ,nun  who  was  confessing. 


'<^ 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


109 


He  had  a  common  chair  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  and  instead  of  being  placed  behind  a  grate,  or 
lattice,  as  in  the  chapel,  had  nothing  before  or 
around  him.  There  were  no  spectators  to  observe 
him,  and  of  course  any  such  thing  would  have 
been  unnecessary. 

A  number  of  nuns  usually  confessed  on  the  same 
day,  but  only  cno  could  be  admitted  into  the  room 
at  a  time.  They  took  their  places  just  without  the 
door,  on  their  knees,  and  went  through  the  prepara- 
tion prescribed  by  the  rules  of  confession ;  repeating 
certain  prayers,  which  always  occupy  a  consider- 
able time.  When  one  was  ready,  she  rose  from  her 
knees,  entered,  and  closed  the  door  behind  her ;  and 
no  other  one  even  dared  touch  the  latch  until  she 
came  out. 

I  shall  not  tell  what  was  transacted  at  such  times, 
under  the  pretence  of  confessing,  and  receiving  ab- 
solution from  sin :  far  more  guilt  was  often  incurred 
than  pardoned ;  and  crimes  of  a  deep  die  were  com- 
mitted, while  trifling  irregularities,  in  childish  cere- 
monies, were  treated  as  serious  oflences.  I  cannot 
persuade  myself  to  speak  plainly  on  such  a  subject, 
as  I  must  oflfend  the  virtuous  ear.  I  can  only  say, 
that  suspicion  cannot  do  any  injustice  to  the  priests, 
because  their  sins  cannot  be  exaggerated. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  manner  in  which 
even  such  women  as  many  of  my  sister  nuns  were 
regarded  the  confessors,  when  I  state,  that  there 
was  often  a  contest  among  us,  to  avoid  entering  the 
apartment  as  long  as  we  could,  endeavouring  to 
10 


^'f 


'  "^.v  i 


^1 


I 


•(■► 

m 


1 
n 


I  li 


ii 


\ 

\ 


^r 


:  'I 
I'li 


*•%!  i^l 


■  f 


;. 

i 

! 

(r 

if, 

1 

- 

^ 


no 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


make  each  other  go  first,  as  that  was  what  most  of 

us  dreaded. 

During  the  long  and  tedious  days,  which  filled 
up  the  time  between  the  occurrences  I  have  men- 
tioned, nothing,  or  little,  took  place  to  keep  up  our 
spirits.  Wo  were  fatigued  in  body  with  labour,  or 
with  sitting,  debilitated  by  the  long  continuance  of 
our  reliijious  exercises,  and  depressed  in  feelings 
by  our  miserable  and  hopeless  condition.  Nothing 
but  the  humours  of  mad  Jane  Ray,  could  rouse  us 
for  a  moment  from  our  languor  and  melancholy. 

To  mention  all  her  devices,  would  require  more 
room  than  is  here  allowed,  and  a  memory  of  almost 
all  her  words  and  actions  for  years.  I  had  early 
become  a  favourite  with  her,  and  had  opportunity  to 
learn  more  of  her  character  than  most  of  the  other 
nuns.  As  this  may  be  best  learnt  from  hearing 
what  she  did,  I  will  here  recount  a  few  of  her  tricks, 
just  as  they  happen  to  present  themselves  to  my 
memory,  without  regard  to  the  order  of  time. 

She  one  day,  in  an  unaccountable  humour,  sprink- 
led the  floor  plentifully  with  holy  water,  which 
brought  upon  her  a  severe  lecture  from  the  Supe- 
rior, as  might  have  been  expected.  The  Superior 
said  it  was  a  heinous  ofTence ;  she  had  wasted  holy 
water  enough  to  save  many  souls  from  purgatory ; 
and  what  would  they  not  give  for  it !  She  than  or- 
dered Jane  to  sit  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and 
when  the  priest  came,  he  was  informed  of  her  of- 
fence. Instead,  however,  of  imposing  one  of  those 
penances  to  which  she  had  often  been  subjected^ 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


Ill 


l)Ul  with  so  little  effect,  he  said  to   her,  **Go  to 
your  place,  Jane ;  we  forgive  you  for  this  time." 

I  was  once  set  to  iron  aprons  with  Jane ;  aprons 
and  pocket-handkerchiefs  are  the  only  articles  of 
dress  which  are  ever  ironed  in  the  Convent.  As 
soon  as  we  were  alone,  she  remarked,  "  Well,  we 
are  free  from  the  rules,  while  we  arc  at  this  work ;" 
and  ahhough  she  knew  she  had  no  reason  for  saj'-- 
ing  so,  she  began  to  sing,  and  I  soon  joined  her, 
and  thus  we  spent  the  time,  while  we  were  at  work, 
to  the  neglect  of  the  prayers  we  ought  to  have  said. 

We  had  no  idea  that  we  were  in  danger  of  being 
overheard,  but  it  happened  that  the  Superior  was 
overhead  all  the  time,  with  several  nuns,  who  w^ere 
preparing  for  confession :  she  came  down  and  said, 
•'  How  is  this  ?"  Jane  Ray  coolly  replied,  that  we 
had  employed  our  time  in  singing  hymns,  and  re- 
ferred to  me.  I  was  afraid  to  confirm  so  direct  a 
falsehood,  in  order  to  deceive  the  Superior,  though 
I  had  often  told  more  injurious  ones  of  her  fabrica- 
tion, or  at  her  orders,  and  said  very  little  in  reply  to 
Jane's  request. 

The  Superior  plainly  saw  the  trick  that  was  at- 
tempted, and  ordered  us  both  to  the  room  for  the 
examination  of  conscience,  where  we  remained  till 
night,  without  a  mouthful  to  eat.  The  time  was  not, 
however,  unoccupied ;  I  received  such  a  lecture 
from  Jane,  as  I  have  very  seldom  heard,  and  she 
was  so  angry  with  me  that  we  did  not  speak  to  each 
other  for  two  weeks. 

At  length   she  found  something  to  complain  of 


i  < 


ii»  "N 


A  f 


\ 


t 


It 


:  •■! 


I: 


'I 


(    '• 


''\  i'l 


112 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I 


I  I    ' 


M 


' 


'    .  1 


WMM\ 


mM  ■* 


Mi. 


,  I 


against  me,  had  me  subjected  to  a  penance,  which 
led  to  our  begging  each  other's  pardon,  and  we  be- 
came perfectly  satisfied,  reconciled,  and  as  good 
friends  as  ever. 

One  of  the  most  disgusting  penances  we  ever 
had  to  submit  to,  was  that  of  drinking  the  water  in 
which  the  Superior  had  washed  her  feet.  Nobody 
could  ever  laugh  at  this  penance  except  Jane  Ray. 
She  would  pretend  to  comfort  us,  by  saying,  she 
was  sure  it  was  better  than  mere  plain  clear  water. 

Some  of  the  tricks  which  I  remember,  were  play- 
ed by  Jane  with  nuns'  clothes.  It  was  a  rule  that 
the  oldest  aprons  in  use  should  go  to  the  youngest 
received,  and  the  old  nuns  were  to  wear  all  the 
new  ones.  On  four  different  occasions,  Jane  stole 
into  the  sleeping-room  at  night,  and  unobserved  by 
the  watch,  changed  a  great  part  of  the  aprons,  pla- 
cing them  by  the  beds  of  nuns  to  whom  they  did 
not  belong.  The  consequence  was,  that  in  the 
morning  they  dressed  themselves  in  such  haste,  as 
never  to  discover  the  mistakes  they  made,  until  they 
were  all  ranged  at  prayers  ;  and  then  the  ridiculous 
appearance  which  many  of  them  cut,  disturbed  the 
long  devotions.  I  laugh  so  easily,  thr  i  on  such  oc- 
casions, I  usually  incurred  a  full  share  of  penances. 
I  generally,  however,  got  a  new  apron,  when  Jane 
played  this  trick ;  for  it  was  part  of  her  object,  to 
give  the  best  aprons  to  her  favourites,  and  put  of! 
the  ragged  ones  on  some  of  the  old  nuns  whom  she 
most  hated. 

Jane  once  lost  her  pocket-handkerchief.      The 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


113 


penance  for  such  an  oflence  is,  to  go  without  any 
for  five  weeks.  For  this  she  had  no  relish,  and  re- 
quested me  to  pick  one  from  some  of  the  nuns  on 
the  way  up-stairs.  I  succeeded  in  getting  tuo :  this 
Jane  said  was  one  too  many,  and  she  thought  it 
dangerous  for  cither  of  us  to  ktcp  it,  lest  a  search 
should  be  made.  Very  soon  the  two  nuns  were 
fomplaining  that  they  had  lost  their  handkerchiefs, 
and  wondering  what  could  have  become  of  them,  as 
they  were  sure  they  had  been  careful.  Jane  seized 
un  opportunity,  and  slipped  one  into  a  straw  bed, 
where  it  remained  until  the  bed  was  emptied  to  be 
filled  with  new  straw. 

As  the  winter  was  coming  on,  one  year,  she  com- 
plained to  me  that  we  were  not  as  well  supplied 
with  warm  night-clothes  as  two  of  the  nuns  she 
named,  whom  she  said  she  "abominated."  She 
soon  afler  found  means  to  get  possession  of  their 
fine  warm  flannel  nightgowns,  one  of  which  she 
gave  to  me,  while  the  other  she  put  on  at  bedtime. 
She  presumed  the  owners  would  have  a  secret 
search  for  them ;  and  in  the  morning  hid  them  in 
the  stove,  afler  the  fire  had  gone  out,  which  was 
kindled  a  little  before  the  hour  of  rising,  and  then 
suflfered  to  burn  down. 

This  she  did  every  morning,  taking  them  out  at 
night,  through  the  winter.  T,be  poor  nuns  who 
owned  the  garments  were  afraid  to  complain  of  their 
loss,  lest  they  should  have  some  penance  laid  on 
them,  and  nothing  was  ever  said  abcut  them.  When 
the  weather  began  to  grow  warm  in  the  spring 
10* 


W 


i 


'>  '^ 


'■M 


'■'I 


, 


lit 


I 


I   I  i    I 


:'l, 


"«      I 


\4 


'.  t 


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M 


I  > 


i 


1! 


114 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


i  ' ' 


<  i 


r  HI, 


s  ':' 


i 


Jane  returned  the  nightgowns  to  the  heds  of  the 
nuns,  from  whom  she  had  borrowed  them,  and  they 
were  probably  as  much  surprised  to  find  them  again, 
as  they  had  before  been  at  losing  them. 

Jane  once  found  an  opportunity  to  fill  her  apron 
with  a  quantity  of  fine  apples,  caWed  fameuses^  which 
came  in  her  way,  and,  hastening  up  to  the  sleeping- 
room,  hid  them  under  my  bed.  Then,  coming  down, 
she  informed  me,  and  we  agreed  to  apply  for  leave 
to  make  our  elevens,  as  it  is  called.  The  meaning 
of  this  is,  to  repeat  a  certain  round  of  prayers,  for 
nine  davs  in  succession,  to  some  saint  we  choose  to 
address  for  assistance,  in  becoming  more  charitable, 
affectionate,  or  something  else.  We  easily  obtained 
permission,  and  hastened  up-stairs  to  begin  our  nine 
days'  feast  on  the  apples ;  when,  much  to  our  sur- 
prise, they  had  all  been  taken  away,  and  there  was 
no  way  to  avoid  the  disagreeable  fate  we  had 
brought  upon  ourselves.  Jane  therefore  began  to 
search  the  beds  of  the  other  nuns ;  but  not  finding 
any  trace  of  the  apples,  she  became  doubly  vexed, 
and  stuck  pins  in  those  which  belonged  to  her  ene- 
mies. 

When  bedtime  came,  they  were  much  scratched 
in  getting  in  bed,  which  made  them  break  silencs, 
and  that  subjected  them  to  penances. 


\ 


i 


IM 

'  1  ^' ' 

i    '     .   ■ 

t       •{■ 

\\  \' 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Jane  Ray* $  Tricks  continued— The  Broomstick  Ghost—Sleep* 
walking— Salted  Cider — Changing  Beds — Objects  of  sotm 
of  her  Tricks— Feigned  Humility— Alarm— Treatment  of  a 
new  Nun— A  Nun  made  by  stratagem. 

One  night,  Jane,  who  had  been  sweeping  the 
sleeping-room,  for  a  penance,  dressed  up  the  broom- 
stick, when  she  had  completed  her  work,  with  a 
white  cloth  on  the  end,  so  tied  as  to  resemble  an  old 
woman  dressed  in  white,  with  long  arms  sticking 
out.  This  she  stuck  through  a  broken  pane  of  glass, 
and  placed  it  so  that  it  appeared  to  be  looking  in  at 
the  window,  by  the  font  of  holy  water.  There  it 
remained  until  the  nuns  came  up  to  bed.  The  first 
who  stopped  at  the  font,  to  dip  her  finger  in,  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  singular  object,  and  started  with 
terror.  The  next  was  equally  terrified,  as  she  ap- 
proached, and  the  next,  and  the  next. 

We  all  believed  in  ghosts ;  and  it  was  not  wonder- 
ful that  such  an  object  should  cause  alarm,  especially 
as  it  was  but  a  short  time  after  the  death  of  one  of  the 
nuns.  Thus  they  went  on,  each  getting  a  fright  in 
turn,  yet  all  afraid  to  speak.  At  length,  one  more 
alarmed,  or  with  less  presence  of  mind  than  the  rest, 
exclaimed,  "  Oh,  mon  Dieu !  Je  ne  me  coucherais 
pas !"  When  the  night-watch  called  out,  "  Who's 
that  ?"  She  confessed  she  had  broken  silence,  but 
pointed  at  the  cause ;  and  then,  all  the  nuns  assem* 


I    • 
l<     1 


I'll 


II, 


i-i.  11 


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1  ,  i|.r -f  ■■> 


:r  "i.i  .<  : 

Br 


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J  «' 


V' 


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1       ■  •  >■ 


■m        f 

fl, 

f  M 
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ill- 


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t  ; 


l;i.|' 


5    fe  '■ 


115 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


blmg  at  a  distance  from  the  window,  Jane  offered  to 
advance  boldly,  and  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  ap- 
parition, which  they  thought  a  most  resolute  inten- 
tion. We  all  stood  looking  on,  when  she  stepped 
to  the  window,  drew  in  the  broomstick,  and  showed 
us  the  ridiculous  puppet,  which  had  alarmed  so 
many  superstitious  fears. 

Some  of  her  greatest  feats  she  performed  as  a 
sleep-walker.  Whether  she  ever  walked  in  her 
sleep  or  not,  I  am  unable,  with  certainty,  to  say. 
She,  however,  often  imposed  upon  the  Superior  and 
old  nuns,  by  making  them  think  so,  when  I  knew 
she  did  not ;  and  yet,  I  cannot  positively  say  that  she 
always  did.  I  have  remarked,  that  one  of  the  old 
nuns  was  always  placed  in  our  sleeping-room  at 
night,  to  watch  us.  Sometimes  she  would  be  inat- 
tentive, and  sometimes  fall  into  a  doze.  Jane  Ray 
often  seized  such  times  to  rise  from  her  bed,  and 
walk  about,  occasionally  seizing  one  of  the  nuns 
ha  bed,  in  order  to  frighten  her.  This  she  gener- 
ally affected;  and  many  times  we  have  all  been 
awakened,  by  screams  of  terror.  In  our  alarm, 
some  of  us  frequently  broke  silence,  and  gave  occa- 
sion to  the  Superior  to  lay  us  under  penances.  Many 
times,  however,  we  escaped  with  a  mere  reprimand, 
while  Jane  usually  received  expressions  of  com- 
passion : — "  Poor  creature  I  she  would  not  do  so 
if  she  were  in  perfect  possession  of  her  reason." 
And  Jane  displayed  her  customary  artfulness,  in 
keeping  up  the  false  impression.  As  soon  as  she 
p«reeived  that  the  old  nun  was  likely  to  observe  her, 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


117 


she  would  throw  her  arms  about,  or  appear  uncon- 
scious  of  what  she  was  doing,  falling  upon  a  bed, 
or  standing  stock-still,  until  exertions  had  been 
made  to  rouse  her  from  her  supposed  lethargy. 

We  were  once  allowed  to  drink  cider  at  dinner, 
which  was  quite  an  extraordinary  favour.  Jane, 
however,  on  account  of  her  negligence  of  all  work, 
was  denied  the  privilege,  which  she  much  resented. 
The  next  day,  when  dinner  arrived,  we  began  to 
taste  our  new  drink,  but  it  was  so  salt  we  could  not 
swallow  it.  Those  of  us  who  at  first  discovered  it, 
were,  as  usual,  afraid  to  speak ;  but  we  set  down  our 
cups,  and  looked  round,  till  the  others  made  the 
same  discovery,  which  they  all  soon  did,  and  most 
of  them  in  the  same  manner.  Some,  however,  at 
length,  taken  by  surprise,  uttered  some  ludicrous 
exclamation,  on  tasting  the  salted  cider,  and  then  an 
old  nun,  looking  cross,  would  cry  out: — 

*•  Ah !  tu  casses  la  silence !"  (Ah  1  you've  broken 
silence.) 

And  thus  we  soon  got  a-laughing,  beyond  our 
power  of  suppressing  it.  At  recreation,  that  day,  the 
first  question  asked  by  many  of  us,  was,  "  How  did 
you  like  your  cider  ?" 

Jane  Ray  never  had  a  fixed  place  to  sleep  in. 
When  the  weather  began  to  grow  warm  in  the 
spring,  she  usually  pushed  some  bed  out  of  its  place, 
near  a  window,  and  put  her  own  beside  it;  and 
when  the  winter  approache(:,  she  would  choose  a 
spot  near  the  stove,  and  occupy  it  with  her  bed,  in 


■  u 


ii 


•1  ••      d 


)\-\ 


'U: 


I  t 


i'ltl 


<^'" 


t       :     f 


'  i  I 


lif 


118 


BLACK  NVNNERT. 


spite  of  all  remonstrance.     We  were  all  convinced 
that  it  was  generally  best  to  yield  to  her. 

She  was  often  set  to  work,  in  different  ways ;  but, 
whenever  she  was  dissatisfied  with  doing  any  thing, 
would  devise  some  trick  that  would  make  the  Su- 
perior, or  old  nuns,  drive  her  off;  and  whenever 
any  suspicion  was  expressed,  of  her  being  in  her 
right  mind,  she  would  say,  that  she  did  not  know 
what  she  was  doing;  that  all  the  difficulty  arose 
from  her  repeating  prayers  too  mucii,  which  wearied 
and  distracted  her  mind. 

I  was  once  directed  to  assist  Jane  Ray,  in  shifting 
the  beds  of  the  nuns.     When  we  came  to  those  of 
some  of  the  sisters,  whom  she  most  disliked,  she 
said,  now  we  will  pay  them  for  some  of  the  penan- 
ces we  have  suffered  on  their  account ;  and  taking 
some  thistles,  she  mixed  them  with  the  straw.     At 
night,  the  first  of  them  who  got  into  bed,  felt  the 
thistles,  and  cried  out.     The  night-watch  exclaimed, 
as  usual,  "  You  are  breaking  silence  there."     And 
then  another  screamed,  as  she  wfis  scratched  by  the 
thistles,  and  another.     The  old  nun  then  called  on 
all  who  had  broken  silence  to  rise,  and  ordered  them 
to  sleep  under  their  beds,  as  a  penance,  which  they 
silently  complied  with.     Jane  and  I  afterward  con- 
fessed, when  it  was  all  over,  and  took  some  trifling 
penance  which  the  priest  imposed. 

Those  nuns  who  fell  most  under  the  displeasure 
of  mad  Jane  Ray,  as  I  have  intimated  before,  were 
Ihose  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  most  ready  to 
mform  of  the  trifling  faults  of  others  and  especially 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


ii9 


those  who  acted  without  any  regard  to  honour,  by 
disclosing  what  they  had  pretended  to  listen  to  in 
confidence.  Several  of  the  worst-tempered  "saints'' 
she  held  in  abhorrence ;  and  I  have  heard  her  say, 
that  such  and  such,  she  abominated.  Many  a  trick 
did  she  play  upon  these,  some  of  which  were  pain- 
ful to  them  in  their  consequences,  and  a  good  num- 
ber of  them  have  never  been  traced  to  this  day.  Of 
all  the  nuns,  however,  none  other  was  regarded  by 
her  with  so  much  detestation  as  Saint  Hypolite ;  for 
she  was  always  believed  to  have  betrayed  Saint 
Francis,  and  to  have  caused  her  murder.  She  was 
looked  upon  by  us  as  the  voluntary  cause  of  her 
death,  and  of  the  crime  which  those  of  us  commit- 
ted, who,  unwillingly,  took  part  in  her  execution. 
We,  on  the  contrary,  being  under  the  worst  of  fears 
for  ourselves,  in  case  of  refusing  to  obey  our  mas- 
ters and  mistress,  thought  ourselves  chargeable  with 
less  guilt,  as  unwilling  assistants  in  a  scene,  which 
it  was  impossible  for  us  to  prevent  or  delay.  Jane 
has  often  spoken  with  me  of  the  suspected  informer, 
and  always  in  terms  of  the  greatest  bitterness. 

The  Superior  sometimes  expressed  commisera- 
tion for  mad  Jane  Ray,  but  I  never  could  tell  whether 
she  really  believed  her  insane  or  not.  1  was  always 
inclined  to  think  that  she  was  willing  to  put  up  with 
some  of  her  tricks,  because  they  served  to  divert  our 
minds  from  the  painful  and  depressing  circumstances 
in  which  we  were  placed.  I  knew  the  Superior's 
powers  and  habits  of  deception  also,  and  that  she 
would  deceive  us  as  willingly  as  any  one  else. 


•fe  •  1;      ;(     I 


i:..tf 


<  f  ■  I 
I  ■  it- '  k 

Ml ! 


\  i 


>  :'•: 


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ij 


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:  1] 


m 


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■i.i 


II 


ilH  N. 


Htm     "■W>Wi»'in  **  ■--■ 


120 


BLACK   NT7NNERT. 


m 


■  ■« 


■  I 


m  > 


■■-1   f  'i         ' 

Sometimes  she  proposed  to  send  Jane  to  St. 
Anne's,  a  place  near  Cluebec,  celebrated  for  the  pil- 
grimages made  to  it  by  persons  differently  afflicted. 
It  is  supposed  that  some  peculiar  virtue  exists  there, 
which  w?il  restore  health  to  the  sick ;  and  I  have 
heard  stories  told  in  corroboration  of  the  common 
belief.  Many  lame  and  blind  persons,  with  others, 
visit  St.  Anne's  every  year,  some  of  whom  may  be 
seen  travelling  on  foot,  and  begging  their  food. 
The  Superior  would  sometimes  say  that  it  was  a 
pit]:  that  a  woman  like  Jane  Ray,  capable  of  being 
so  useful,  should  be  unable  to  do  her  duties  in  con- 
sequence of  a  malady  which  she  thought  might  be 
cured  by  a  visit  to  St.  Anne's. 

Yet  to  St.  Anne's  Jane  was  never  sent,  and  her 
wild  and  various  tricks  continued  as  before.  The 
rules  of  silence,  which  the  others  were  so  scrupulous 
in  observing,  she  set  at  naught  every  hour ;  and  as 
for  other  rules,  she  regarded  them  with  as  little  re- 
spect when  they  stood  in  her  way.  She  would  now 
and  then  step  out  and  stop  the  clock  by  which  cur 
exercises  were  regulated,  and  sometimes,  in  this 
manner,  lengthened  out  our  recreations  till  near 
twelve.  At  last  the  old  nuns  began  to  watch  against 
such  a  trick,  and  would  occasionally  go  out  to  see 
if  the  clock  was  going. 

She  once  made  a  request  that  she  might  not  eat 
with  the  other  nuns,  which  was  granted,  as  it 
seemed  to  proceed  from  a  spirit  of  genuine  hu- 
vxiility,  which  made  her  regard  herself  as  unworthy 
of  our  society. 


,'  J 


BLACK   NVNNERT. 


121 


I    t>B 


It  being  most  convenient,  she  was  sent  to  the  Su- 
perior's table,  to  make  her  meals  after  her ;  and  it 
did  not  at  first  occur  to  the  Superior,  that  Jane,  in 
this  manner,  profited  by  the  change,  by  getting 
much  belter  food  than  the  rest  of  us.  Thus  there 
seemed  to  be  always  something  deeper  than  any- 
body at  first  suspected,  at  the  bottom  of  every  thing 
she  did. 

She  was  once  directed  to  sweep  a  community- 
room,  under  the  sleeping-chamber.  This  office  had 
before  been  assigned  to  the  other  nuns,  as  a  pen- 
ance ;  but  the  Superior,  considering  that  Jane  Ray 
did  little  or  nothing,  determined  thus  to  furnish  her 
with  some  employment. 

She  declared  to  us  that  she  would  not  swee^  ii 
long,  as  we  might  soon  be  assured.  It  happened 
that  the  stove  by  which  that  community-rociik  was 
warmed  in  the  winter,  had  its  pipe  carried  through 
the  floor  of  our  sleeping-chamber,  and  thence  across 
it,  in  a  direction  opposite  that  in  which  the  pipe  of 
our  stove  was  carried.  It  being  then  warm  weather, 
^I^e  first-mentioned  pipe  had  been  taken  down,  and 
the  hole  J  eft  unstopped.  After  we  had  all  retired  to 
our  beds,  and  w  'hile  engaged  in  our  silent  prayers, 
we  were  suddenly'  alarmed  by  a  bright  blaze  of  fire, 
which  burst  from  the  hole  in  the  floor,  and  threw 
sparks  all  around  us.  We  thought  the  building 
was  burning,  and  uttered  cries  of  terror,  regardless 
of  the  penances,  the  fear  of  which  generally  kept  us 
silent. 

The  utmost  confusion  prevailed;  for  although  we 

11 


'.     !|     < 


t;  i 


\\ 


1  A 


M. 


V  1 


122 


BLACK  NUNNERV. 


I 


I 


.    ,  -:|i: 


m 


had  solemnly  vowed  never  to  flee  from  the  Convent 
even  if  it  was  on  fire,  we  were  extremely  alarmed, 
and  could  not  repress  our  feelings.  We  soon  learnt 
the  cause,  for  the  flames  ceased  in  a  moment  or  two, 
and  it  was  found  that  mad  Jane  Ray,  after  sweeping 
a  little  in  the  room  beneath,  had  stuck  a  quantity  of 
wet  powder  on  the  end  of  her  broom,  thrust  it  up 
through  the  hole  in  the  ceiling  into  our  apartment, 
and  with  a  lighted  paper  set  it  on  fire. 

The  date  of  this  alarm  I  must  refer  to  a  time  soon 
after  that  of  the  election  riots ;  for  I  recollect  that  she 
found  means  to  get  possession  of  some  of  the  powder 
which  was  prepared  at  that  time,  for  an  emergency 
to  which  some  thought  the  Convent  was  exposed. 

^he  once  asked  for  pen  and  paper,  and  when  the 
Bviperior  told  her  that  if  she  wrote  to  her  friends 
she  must  see  it,  she  replied,  that  it  was  for  no  such 
purpose;  she  wanted  to  write  her  confession,  and 
thus  make  it  once  for  all.  She  wrote  it,  handed  it 
to  the  priest,  and  he  gave  it  to  the  Superior,  who 
read  it  to  us.  It  was  full  of  ofl^ences  which  she  had 
never  committed,  evidently  written  to  throw  ridicule 
on  confessions,  and  one  of  the  most  ludicr  ous  pro- 
ductions I  ever  saw. 

Our  bedsteads  were  made  with  narrow  boards 
laid  across  them,  on  which  the  beds  were  laid. 
One  day,  while  we  were  in  the  bedchamber  to^ 
gether,  she  proposed  that  we  should  misplace  these 
boards.  This  was  done,  so  that  at  night  nearly  a  doz- 
en nuns  fell  down  upon  the  floor  on  getting  into  bed. 
A  good  deal  of  confusion  naturally  ensued,  but  the 


BLACK    NUNNERT. 


123 


authors  were  not  discovered.  I  was  so  conscience- 
stricken,  however,  that  a  week  aflerward,  while  we 
examined  our  consciences  together,  I  told  her  I 
must  confess  the  sin  the  next  day.  She  replied, 
"  Do  as  you  like,  but  you  will  be  sorry  for  it." 

The  next  day,  when  we  came  before  the  Superior, 
I  was  just  going  to  kneel  and  confess,  when  Jane, 
almost  without  giving  me  time  to  shut  the  door, 
threw  herself  at  the  Superior's  feet,  and  confessed 
the  trick,  and  a  penance  was  immediately  laid  on 
me  for  the  sin  I  had  concealed. 

There  wa«  an  old  nun,  who  was  a  famous  talker, 
whom  we  used  to  call  La  Mere,  (Mother.)  One 
night,  Jane  Ray  got  up,  and  secretly  changed  the 
caps  of  several  of  the  nuns,  and  hers  among  the 
rest.  In  the  morning  there  was  great  confusion, 
and  such  a  scene  as  seldom  occurred.  She  was 
severely  blamed  by  La  Mere,  having  been  informed 
against  by  some  of  the  nuns ;  and  at  last  became  so 
much  enraged,  that  she  attacked  the  old  woman, 
and  even  took  her  by  the  throat.  La  Mere  called 
on  all  present  to  come  to  her  assistance,  and  several 
nuns  interfered.  Jane  seized  the  opportunity  afford- 
ed in  the  confusion,  to  beat  some  of  her  worst  ene- 
mies quite  severely,  and  afterward  said,  that  she  had  , 
intended  to  kill  some  of  the  rascally  informers. 

For  a  time  Jane  made  jis  laugh  so  much  at  pray- 
ers, that  the  Superior  forbadfc  her  going  down  with 
us  to  morning  prayers ;  and  she  took  the  opportu- 
nity to  sleep  in  the  morning.  When  this  was  found 
out,  she  was  forbidden  to  get  into  her  bed  again 


! 


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124 


BLACK   NUNNBRT. 


after  leaving  it,  and  then  she  would  creep  under  it 
and  take  a  nap  on  the  floor.  This  she  told  us  of 
one  day,  but  threatened  U2  if  we  ever  betrayed  her. 
At  length,  she  was  missed  at  breakfast,  as  she 
would  sometimes  oversleep  herself,  and  the  Superior 
began  to  be  more  strict,  and  always  inquired,  in  the 
morning,  whether  Jane  Ray  was  in  her  place. 
When  the  question  was  general,  none  of  us  an. 
swered;-  but  when  it  was  addressed  to  some  nun 
near  her  by  name,  as, 

"Saint  Eustace,  is  Jane  Ray  in  her  place?** 
then  we  had  to  reply. 

Of  all  the  scenes  that  occurred  during  my  stay  in 
the  Convent,  there  was  none  which  excited  the  de- 
light of  Jane  more  than  one  which  took  place  in  the 
chapel  one  day  at  mass,  though  I  never  had  any 
particular  reason  to  suppose  that  she  had  brought  it 
about. 

Soijjie  person,  unknown  to  me  to  this  day,  had 
put  some  substance  or  other,  of  a  most  nauseous 
smell,  into  the  hat  of  a  little  boy,  who  attended  at 
the  altar,  and  he,  without  observing  the  trick,  put  it 
upon  his  head.  In  the  midst  of  the  ceremonies  he 
approached  some  of  the  nuns,  who  were  almost  suf* 
focated  with  the  odour ;  and  as  he  occasionally  mo- 
ved from  place  to  place,  some  of  them  began  to  beckon 
to  him  to  stand  farthier  off;  and  to  hold  their  nofes, 
with  looks  of  disgust.  The  boy  was  quite  uncon- 
scious of  the  cause  of  the  difficulty,  and  paid  them 
no  attention ;  but  the  confusion  soon  became  so  great, 
through  the  distress  of  some,  and  the  laughing  of 


BLACK    NUNNERV. 


126 


Others,  that  the  Superior  noticed  the  circumstance, 
and  beckoned  to  the  boy  to  withdraw.  All  attempts, 
however,  to  engage  us  in  any  work,  prayer,  or  med- 
itation, were  found  ineflfectual.  Whenever  the  cir. 
cumstances  in  the  chapel  came  to  mind,  we  would 
laugh  out.  We  had  got  into  such  a  state,  that  we  could 
not  easily  restrain  ourselves.  The  Superior,  yielding 
to  necessity,  allowed  us  recreation  for  the  whole  day. 
The  Superior  used  sometimes  to  send  Jan^  to  in- 
struct the  novices  in  their  English  prayers.  She 
would  proceed  to  her  task  with  all  seriousness ;  but 
sometimes  chose  the  most  ridiculous,  as  well  as  ir- 
reverent passages,  from  songs,  and  other  things, 
which  she  had  before  somewhere  learnt,  which 
would  set  us,  who  understood  her,  laughing.  One 
of  her  rhymes,  I  recollect,  began  with : 

"  The  Lord  of  love,  look  from  above^ 
Upon  this  turkey  hen." 

Jane  for  a  time  slept  opposite  me,  and  often  in  the 
night  would  rise,  unobserved,  and  slip  into  my  bed, 
to  talk  with  me,  which  she  did  in  a  low  whisper, 
and  return  again  with  equal  caution. 

She  would  tell  me  of  the  tricks  she  had  played, 
and  such  as  she  meditated,  and  sometimes  make  me 
laugh  so  loud,  that  I  had  much  to  do  in  the  morn- 
ing with  begging  pardons,  and  doing  penances. 

0**e  winter's  day,  she  was  sent  to  light  a  fire ; 
but  after  she  had  done  so,  remarked  privately  to 
some  of  us :  "  My  fingers  were  too  cold — ^you'll  see 
if  I  do  it  again." 


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126 


BLACK   NVNNBRT. 


The  next  day,  there  was  a  great  stir  in  the  house, 
because  it  was  said  that  mad  Jane  Ray  had  been 
seized  with  a  fit  while  making  a  fire,  and  she  was 
taken  up  apparently  insensible,  and  conveyed  to  her 
bed.  She  complained  to  me,  who  visited  her  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  that  she  was  likely  to  starve,  as 
food  was  denied  her ;  and  I  was  persuaded  to  pin 
a  stocking  under  my  dress,  and  secretly  put  food 
into  it  from  the  table.  This  I  afterward  carried  to 
her  and  relieved  her  wants. 

One  of  the  things  which  I  blamed  Jane  most  for, 
was  a  disposition  to  quarrel  with  any  nun  who  seem- 
ed to  be  winning  the  favour  of  the  Superior.  She 
would  never  rest  until  she  had  brought  such  a  on© 
into  some  difficulty. 

We  were  allowed  but  little  soap ;  and  Jane,  when 
she  found  her  supply  nearly  gone,  would  take  the 
first  piece  she  could  find.  One  day  there  was  a 
general  search  made  for  a  large  piece  that  was  miss- 
ed ;  when,  soon  after  I  had  been  searched,  Jane  Ray 
passed  me  and  slipped  it  into  my  pocket;  she  was 
soon  after  searched  herself,  and  then  secretly  came 
for  it  again. 

While  I  recall  these  particulars  of  our  nunnery, 
and  refer  so  often  to  the  conduct  and  language  of 
one  of  tlie  nuns,  I  cannot  speak  of  some  things, 
which  I  believed  or  suspected,  on  account  of  my 
want  of  sufficient  knowledge.  But  it  is  a  pity  you 
have  not  Jane  Ray  for  a  witness ;  she  knows  many 
things  of  which  I  am  ignorant.  She  must  be  in 
possession  of  facts  that  should  be  known.     Her  Ion/ 


BLACK   NUNNERT. 


m 


residence  in  the  Convent,  her  habits  of  roaming  about 
it,  and  of  observing  every  thing,  must  have  made  her 
acquainted  with  things  which  would  be  heard  with 
interest.  I  always  felt  as  if  she  knew  every  thing. 
She  would  often  go  and  listen,  or  look  through  the 
cracks  into  the  Superior's  room,  while  any  of  the 
priests  were  closeted  v  ith  her,  and  sometimes  would 
come  and  tell  me  what  she  witnessed.  I  felt  myself 
bound  to  confess  in  such  cases,  and  always  did  so. 

She  knew,  however,  that  I  only  told  it  to  the 
priest  or  to  the  Superior,  and  without  mentioning 
the  name  of  my  informant,  which  I  was  at  liberty 
to  withhold,  so  that  she  was  not  found  out.  I  often 
said  to  her,  "  Don't  tell  me,  Jane,  for  I  must  confess 
It."     She  would  reply : 

"  It  is  better  for  you  to  confess  it  than  for  me.'*     I 
tlius  became,  even  against  my  w^ill,  informed  of 
scenes,  supposed  by  the  actors  of  them  to  be  secret. 
Jane  Ray  once  persuaded  me  to  accompany  her 
into  the  Superior's  room,  to  hide  with  her  under  the 
sofa,  and  await  the  appearance  of  a  visiter  whom 
she  expected,  that  we  might  overhear  what  passed 
between  them.     We  had  been  long  concealed,  when 
the  Superior  came  in  alone  and  sat  for  some  time, 
when  fearing  she  might  detect  us  in  the  stillness 
which  prevailed,  we  began  to  repent  of  our  temer- 
ity.    At  length,  however,  she  suddenly  withdrew, 
and  thus  afforded  us  a  welcome  opportunity  to 
escape. 

I  was  passing  one  day  through  a  part  of  the  eel* 
lar,  where  I  had  not  often  occasion  to  go,  when  the 


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128 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


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too  of  my  shoe  hit  something.  I  tripped  and  fell 
down.  I  rose  again,  and  holding  my  lamp  to  see 
what  had  caused  my  fall,  I  found  an  iron  ring, 
fastened  to  a  small  square  trapdoor.  This  I  had 
the  curiosity  to  raise,  and  saw  four  or  &ve  steps 
leading  down,  hut  there  was  not  light  enough  to  see 
more,  and  I  feared  to  be  noticed  by  somebody  and 
reported  to  the  Superior ;  so  closing  the  door  again, 
I  left  the  spot.  At  first,  I  could  not  imagine  the 
use  for  such  a  passage ;  but  it  afterward  occurred  to 
me,  that  this  might  open  to  the  subterranean  pas- 
sage to  the  Seminary,  for  I  never  before  could  ac- 
count for  the  appearance  of  many  of  the  priests, 
who  often  appeared  and  disappeared  among  us,  par- 
ticularly at  night,  when  I  knew  the  gates  were 
closed.  They  could,  as  I  now  saw,  come  up  to  the 
door  of  the  Superior's  room  at  any  hour,  then  up 
the  stairs  into  our  sleeping-room,  or  where  they 
chose.     And  often  they  were  in  our  beds  before  us. 

I  afterward  ascertained  that  my  conjectures  were 
correct,  and  that  a  secret  communication  was  kept 
up,  in  this  manner,  between  the  two  institutions,  at 
the  end  towards  N6tre  Dame-street,  at  a  considerable 
depth  under  ground.  I  often,  afterward,  met  priests 
in  the  cellar;  when  sent  there  for  coal  and  other 
articles,  as  they  had  to  pass  up  and  down  the  com- 
mon cellar-stairs  on  their  way. 

My  wearisome  daily  prayers  and  labours,  my 
pain  of  body,  and  depression  of  mind,  which  were  so 
much  increased  by  penances  I  had  suffered,  and  tho3e 
which  I  constantly  feared,  and  the  feelings  of  shame^ 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


129 


remorse,  and  horror,  which  sometimes  arose,  brought 
me  to  a  state  which  I  cannot  describe. 

In  the  first  place,  my  frame  was  enfeebled  by  the 
uneasy  postures  I  was  required  to  keep  for  so  long 
a  time  during  prayers.  This  alone  I  thought  was 
sufficient  to  undermine  my  health  and  destroy  my 
life.  An  hour  and  a  half  every  morning  I  had  to 
sit  on  the  floor  of  the  community-room,  with  my 
feet  under  me,  my  body  bent  forward,  and  my  head 
hanging  on  one  side, — in  a  posture  expressive  of 
great  humilityj  it  is  true,  but  very  fatiguing  to  keep 
for  such  an  unreasonable  length  of  time.  Often  I 
found  it  impossible  to  avoid  falling  asleep  in  this 
posture,  which  I  could  do  without  detection,  by 
*bending  a  little  lower  than  usual.  The  signal  to 
rise,  or  the  noise  made  by  the  rising  of  the  other 
nuns,  then  woke  me,  and  I  got  up  with  the  rest  un- 
observed. 

Before  we  took  the  posture  just  described,  we  had 
to  kneel  for  a  long  time  without  bending  the  body, 
keeping  quite  erect,  with  the  exception  of  the  knees 
only,  with  the  hands  together  before  the  breast 
This  I  found  the  most  distressing  attitude  for  me, 
and  never  assumed  it  withe  ut  feeling  a  sharp  pain 
in  my  chest,  which  I  often  thought  would  soon  lead 
me  to  my  grave — that  is,  to  the  great  common  recep- 
tacle for  the  dead,  under  the  chapel.  And  this  up- 
right kneeling  posture  we  were  obliged  to  resume 
as  soon  as  we  rose  from  the  half-sitting  posture  first 
mentioned ;  so  that  I  usually  felt  myself  exhausted 


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130 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


and  near  to  fainting  before  the  conclusion  of  morn- 
ing services. 

I  found. the  meditations  extremely  tedious,  and 
often  did  I  sink  into  sleep  while  we  were  all  seated 
in  silence  on  the  floor.  When  required  to  tell  my 
meditations,  as  it  was  thought  to  be  of  no  great  im- 
portance what  we  said,  I  sometimes  found  I  had 
nothing  to  tell  but  a  dream,  and  told  that,  which 
passed  off  very  well. 

Jane  Ray  appeared  to  be  troubled  still  more  than 
myself  with  wandering  thoughts ;  and  when  blamed 
for  them,  would  reply,  "  I  begin  very  well ;  but  di- 
rectly I  begin  to  think  of  some  old  friend  of  mine, 
and  my  thoughts  go  a-wandering  from  one  country 
to  another." 

Sometimes  I  confessed  my  failing  asleep;  and 
often  the  priests  have  talked  to  me  about  the  sin  of 
sleeping  in  time  of  meditation.  •  At  last,  one  of  them 
proposed  to  me  to  prick  myself  with  a  pin,  which  I 
have  often  done,  and  so  roused  myself  for  a  time. 

My  close  confinement  in  the  Convent,  and  the 
want  of  opportunities  to  breathe  the  open  air,  might 
have  proved  more  injurious  to  me  than  they  did, 
had  I  not  been  employed  a  part  of  my  time  in  more 
active  labours  than  those  of  sewing,  &c.,  to  which  I 
was  chiefly  confined.  I  took  part  occasionally  in 
some  of  the  heavy  work,  as  washing,  &c. 

The  events  which  I  am  now  to  relate,  occurred 
about  five  months  after  my  admission  into  the  Con- 
vent as  a  nun ;  but  I  cannot  ^x  the  time  with  pre- 
cision, as  I  know  not  of  any  thing  which  took  place 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


131 


in  the  world  about  the  bame  period.  The  circum- 
stances I  clearly  remember;  but,  as  I  have  else^ 
where  remarked,  we  were  not  accustomed  to  keep 
any  account  of  time. 

Information  was  given  to  us  one  day,  that  an- 
other novice  was  to  be  admitted  among*  us ;  and  we 
were  required  to  remember  and  mention  her  often 
in  our  prayers,  that  she  might  have  faithfulness  in 
the  service  of  her  holy  spouse.  No  information 
was  given  us  concerning  her  beyond  this  fact :  not 
a  word  about  her  age,  name,  or  nation.  On  all 
similar  occasions  the  same  course  was  pursued,  and 
all  that  the  nuns  ever  learnt  concerning  one  another 
was  what  they  might  discover  by  being  together, 
and  which  usually  amounted  to  little  or  nothing. 

When  the  day  of  her  admission  arrived,  though 
I  did  not  witness  the  ceremony  in  the  chapel,  it  was 
a  gratification  to  us  all  on  one  account,  because  we 
were  always  released  from  labour,  and  enjoyed  a 
great  recreation-day. 

Our  new  sister,  when  she  was  introduced  to  the 
"  holy"  society  of  us  "  saints,"  proved  to  be  young, 
of  about  the  middle  size,  and  very  good-looking  for 
a  Canadian;  for  I  soon  ascertained  that  she  waa 
one  of  my  own  countrywomen.  The  Canadian  fe- 
males are  generally  not  handsome.  I  never  learnt 
her  name,  nor  any  thing  of  her  history.  She  had 
chosen  Saint  Martin  for  her  nun  name.  She  was 
admitted  in  the  morning,  and  appeared  melancholy 
all  day.  This  I  observed  was  always  the  case; 
and  the  remarks  made  by  others,  led  me  to  believe 


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132 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


that  they,  and  all  they  had  seen,  had^  felt  sad  and 
miserable  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time.     Even  the 
Superior,  as  it  may  be  recollected,  confessed  to  me 
that  she  had  experienced  the  same  feelings  when 
she  was  received.    When  bedtime  arrived,  she  pro- 
ceeded to  the  chamber  with  the  rest  of  us,  and  was 
assigned  a  bed  on  the  side  of  the  room  opposite  my 
own,  and  a  little  beyond.     The  nuns  were  all  soon 
in  bed,  the  usual  silence  ensued,  and  I  was  making 
my  customary  mental  prayer  and  composing  myself 
to  sleep,  when  I  heard  the  most  piercing  and  heart- 
rending shrieks  proceed  from  our  new  comrade. 
Every  nun  seemed  to  rise  as  if  by  one  impulse,  for 
no  one  could  hear  such  sounds,  especially  in  such 
total  silence,  without  being  greatly  excited.    A  gen- 
eral noise  succeeded,  for  many  voices  spoke  together, 
uttering  cries  of  surprise,  compassion,  or  fear.     It 
was  in  vain  for  the  night-watch  to  expect  silence : 
for  onc^  we  forgot  rules  and  penances,  and  gave 
vent  to  our  feelings,  and  she  could  do  nothing  but 
call  for  the  Superior.    Strange  as  it  may  seem,  mad 
Jane  Ray,  who  found  an  opportunity  to  make  her- 
self heard  for  an  instant,  uttered  an  exclamation  in 
English,  which  so  far  from  expressing  any  sympathy 
for  the  sufferer,  seemed  to  betray  feelings  hardened 
to  the  last  degree  against  conscience  and  shame. 
This  caused  a  laugh  among  some  of  those  who  un- 
derstood her,  and  had  become  hardened  to  their 
own  trials,  and  of  course  in  a  great  measure  to  those 
of  others. 
i  heard  a  man*s  voice  mingled  with  the  cries  and 


BI/ikCK   NUNNERY. 


133 


shrieks  of  the  nun.  Father  Gluiblier,  of  the  Semi- 
'  nary,  I  had  felt  confident,  was  in  the  Superior's 
room  at  the  time  when  we  retired ;  and  several  of 
the  nuns  afterward  assured  me  that  it  was  he.  The 
Superior  soon  made  her  appearance,  and  in  a  harsh 
manner  commanded  silence.  I  heard  her  threaten 
gagging  her,  and  then  say,  "  You  are  no  better  than 
anybody' else,  and  if  you  do  not  obey,  you  shall  be 
sent  to  the  cells." 

One  young  girl  was  taken  into  the  Convent  du- 
ring my  abode  there,  under  peculiar  circumstances. 
I  was  acquainted  with  the  whole  affair,  as  I  was 
employed  to  act  a  part  in  it. 

Among  the  novices,  was  a  young  lady  of  about 
seventeen,  the  daughter  of  an  old  rich  Canadian. 
She  had  been  remarkable  for  nothing  that  I  know 
of,  except  the  liveliness  of  her  disposition.     The 
Superior  once  expressed  to  us  a  wish  to  have  her 
take  the  veil,  though  the  girl  herself  had  never  had 
any  such  intention,  that  I  knew  of    Why  the  Supe- 
rior wished  to  receive  her,  I  could  only  conjecture. 
One  reason  might  have  been,  that  she  expected  to 
receive  a  considerable  sum  from  her  father.     She 
was,  however,  strongly  desirous  of  having  the  girl 
in  our  community,  and  one  day  said :  "  Let  us  take 
her  in  by  a  trick,  and  tell  the  old  man  she  felt  too 
humble  to  take  the  veil  in  public." 

Our  plans  then  being  laid,  the  unsuspecting  girl 
was  induced  by  us,  in  sport,  as  we  told  her,  and 
made  her  believe,  to  put  on  such  a  splendid  robe  as 
I  had  worn  on  my  admission,  and  to  pass  through 
12 


'I  1 


m^y  'i' 


1 

1 

m 

1^ 

1 

n 

f 

1 ' 

f 

n 

■"   :! 

mM\ 


\i 


Ni  If  ^  *I  1  ! 


R'ii 


Iff  I  ^  i^^ 


i 


ili''i|- 


If.  'i  " 


f    -' 


f 


^*fl 


I  )  '  J   1 


•»'«i!'' 


1  I-       ■    .    v.*    V*  *        i    ;; 


134 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


some  of  the  ceremonies  of  taking  the  veil.  After 
this,  she  was  seriously  informed,  that  she  was  con- 
sidered as  having  entered  the  Convent  in  earnest, 
and  must  henceforth  bury  herself  to  the  world,  as 
she  would  never  be  allowed  to  leave  it.  We  put  on 
her  a  nun's  dress,  though  she  wept,  and  refused, 
and  expressed  the  greatest  repugnance.  The  Supe- 
rior threatened,  and  promised,  and  flattered,  by 
turns,  until  the  poor  girl  had  to  submit ;  but  her  ap- 
pearance long  showed  that  she  was  a  nun  only  by 
compulsioji. 

In  obedience  to  the  directions  of  the  Superior, 
we  exerted  ourselves  to  make  her  contented,  espe- 
cially when  she  was  first  received,  when  we  got 
round  her,  and  told  her  we  had  felt  so  for  a  time, 
but  having  since  become  acquainted  with  the  hap- 
piness of  a  nun's  life,  were  perfectly  content,  and 
would  never  be  willing  to  leave  the  Convent.  An 
exception  seemed  to  be  made  in  her  favour,  in  one 
respect :  for  I  believe  no  criminal  attempt  was  made 
upon  her,  until  she  had  been  for  some  time  an  in- 
mate of  the  nunnery. 

Soon  after  her  reception,  or  rather  her  forcible 
entry  into  the  Convent,  her  father  called  to  make 
inquiry  about  his  -  daughter.  The  Superior  first 
spoke  with  him  herself,  and  then  called  us  to  repeat 
her  plausible  story,  which  I  did  with  accuracy.  If 
I  had  wished  to  say  any  thing  else,  I  never  should 
have  dared. 

We  told  the  foolish  old  man,  that  his  daughter, 
whom  we  all  affectionately  loved,  had  long  desired 


'  17 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


135 


'■"•^■v 


to  be(!ome  a  Nun,  but  had  been  too  humble  to  wish 
to  appear  before  spectators,  and  had,  at  her  own  de- 
sire, been  favoured  with  a  private  admission  into 
the  community. 

The  benefit  conferred  upon  himself  and  his  fami- 
ly, by  this  act  of  self-consecration,  I  reminded  him, 
must  be  truly  great  and  valuable ;  as  every  family 
which  furnishes  a  priest,  or  a  nun,  is  justly  looked 
upon  as  receiving  the  peculiar  favour  of  heaven  on 
that  account.  The  old  Canadian  firmly  believed 
ev^ry  word  I  was  forced  to  tell  him,  took  the  event 
as  a  great  blessing,  and  expressed  the  greatest 
readiness  to  pay  more  than  the  customary  fee  to 
the  Convent.  After  the  interview,  he  withdrew, 
promising  soon  to  return  and  pay  a  handsome  sum 
to  the  convent,  which  he  performed  with  all  des- 
patch, and  the  greatest  cheerfulness.  The  poor 
girl  never  heard  that  her  father  had  taken  the  trou- 
ble to  call  to  see  her,  much  less  did  she  know  any 
thing  of  the  imposition  passed  upon  him.  She  re- 
mained in  the  Convent  when  I  left  it. 

The  youngest  girl  who  ever  took  the  veil  of  our 
sisterhood,  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and 
considered  very  pious.  She  lived  but  a  short  time. 
I  was  told  that  she  was  ill-treated  by  the  priests^ 
and  believed  her  death  was  in  consequence. 


f   h, 


>-n 


)! 


■;.* 


!  < 


I 


fiV; 


1 


w 


i'  'M 


)  i 


'  • 


■    } 

If 


M 


m 


M!  i^ 


*       ■       f              ' 

^'i       i 

'1  \ 
t 

1 

1 

1: 

1      .    ■ 

,        '      L 

.ill 

ll 


■!j#l 


■li^ 


II 


1  ^^ 


•• 

f     " 

jI- 

^                   r 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Injtuenclng  Novices— Dijiculty  of  convincing  Persona  from 
the  United  States -Tale  of  the  Bishop  in  the  City— The 
Bishop  in  the  Convent—  The  Prisoners  in  the  Cells— Prac- 
tice in  Singing— Narratives— Jan9  Ray^s  Hymn^—Tbs 
Superior's  best  Trick, 

It  was  considered  a  great  duty  to  exert  ourselves 
to  influence  novices  in  favour  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic religion ;  and  different  nuns  were,  at  different 
times,  charged  to  do  what  they  could,  by  conversa- 
tion, to  make  favourable  impressions  on  the  minds 
of  some,  who  were  particularly  indicated  to  us  by 
the  Superior.  I  often  heard  it  remarked,  that  those 
who  were  influenced  with  the  greatest  difficulty, 
were  young  ladies  from  the  United  States ;  and  on 
some  of  those,  great  exertions  were  made. 

Cases  in  which  citizens  of  the  States  were  said 
to  have  been  converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith, 
were  sometimes  spoken  of,  and  always  as  if  they 
were  considered  highly  important. 

The  Bishop,  as  we  were  told,  was  on  the  public 
square,  on  the  day  of  an  execution,  when,  as  he 
said,  a  stranger  looked  at  him  in  some  peculiar 
manner,  which  made  him  confidently  believe  God 
intended  to  have  him  converted  by  his  means. 
When  he  went  home,  he  wrote  a  letter  for  him, 
and  the  next  day  found  him  again  in  the  sam« 
place^  and  gave  him  the  letter,  which  led  to  his  b«- 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


137 


coming  a   Roman  Catholic.      This  man,  it  was 
added,  proved  to  le  a  citizen  of  the  States. 

The  Bishop,  as  I  have  remarked,  was  not  very 
dignified  on  all  occasions,  and  sometimes  acted  in 
such  a  manner  as  would  not  have  appeared  well  in 
public. 

One  day  I  saw  him  preparing  for  mass ;  and  be- 
cause he  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  on  his  robe, 
showed  evident  signs  of  anger.  One  of  the  nuns 
remarked :  "  The  Bishop  is  going  to  perform  a  pas- 
sionate mass."  Some  of  the  others  exclaimed :  "  Are 
you  not  ashamed  to  speak  so  of  my  lord  ?"  And 
she  was  rewarded  with  a  penance. 

But  it  might  be  hoped  that  the  Bishop  would  be 
free  from  the  crimes  of  which  I  have  declared  so 
many  priests  to  have  been  guilty.  I  am  far  from 
entertaining  such  charitable  opinions  of  him ;  and 
I  had  good  reasons,  after  a  time. 

I  was  often  required  to  sleep  on  a  sofa,  in  the 
room  of  the  present  Superior,  as  I  may  have  alrea- 
dy mentioned. 

One  night,  not  long  afler  I  was  first  introduced 
there,  for  that  purpose,  and  within  the  first  twelve 
months  of  my  wearing  the  veil,  having  retired  as 
usual,  at  about  half-past  nine,  not  long  afler  we  had 
got  into  bed,  the  alarm-bell  from  without,  which 
hangs  over  the  Superior's  bed,  was  rung.  She  told 
me  to  see  who  was  there ;  and  going  down,  I  heard 
the  signal  given,  which  I  have  before  mentioned,  a 
peculiar  kind  of  hissing  sound  made  through  the 
teetL  T  answered  with  a  low,  "  Hum — hum ;"  and 
12* 


i    ii 


,.•!!    i 


M 


:U 


!f' 


i  1 1 


ii 


'  '.I 


i 


.Ii 


;':( 


i!'^' 


Ui 


ll 


'  '  .^1 


'i  ! 


i     « 

i    ' 

t    ■ 


VI 


1  H 


Wh 


W'i 


\:\ 


Id! 


'[''I 


\Am 


R^-J:i| 


n 


r  I 


f  ii-p.   f  :  •■)■ 


138 


BLACK   NUNNEET. 


then  opened  the  door.  It  was  Bishop  Lartique,  the 
present  Bishop  of  Montreal.  He  said  to  me,  "Are 
you  a  Novice  or  a  Received  ?"  meaning  a  Received 
nun.     I  answered  a  "  Received." 

He  then  requested  me  to  conduct  him  to  the  Su- 
perior's room,  which  I  did.  He  went  to  the  hed, 
drew  the  curtains  behind  him,  and  I  lay  down  again 
upon  the  sofa,  until  morning,  when  the  Superior 
called  me,  at  an  early  hour,  about  daylight,  and  di- 
rected me  to  show  him  the  door,  to  which  I  con- 
ducted him,  and  he  took  his  departure. 

I  continued  to  visit  the  cellar  frequently,  to  carry 
up  coal  for  the  fires,  without  any  thing  more  than 
a  general  impression  that  there  were  two  nuns  some- 
where imprisoned  in  it.     One  day  while  there  on 
my  usual  errand,  I  saw  a  nun  standing  on  the  right 
of  the  cellar,  in  front  of  one  of  the  cell  doors  I  had 
before  observed ;  she  was  apparently  engaged  with 
something  within.     This  attracted  my  attention. 
The  door  appeared  to  close  in  a  small  recess,  and 
was  fastened  with  a  stout  iron  bolt  on  the  outside, 
the  end  of  which  was  secured  by  being  let  into  a 
hole  in  the  stone-work  which  formed  the  posts. 
The  door,  which  was  of  wood,  was  sunk  a  few 
inches  beyond  the  stone-work,  which  rose  and  form- 
ed an  arch  overhead.     Above  the  bolt  was  a  small 
window  supplied  with  a  fine  grating,  which  swung 
open,  a  small  bolt  having  been  removed  from  it,  on 
the  outside.    The  nun  I  had  observed  seemed  to  be 
whispering  with  some  person  within,  through  the 
little  window:  but  I  hastened  to  get  my  coal,  and  left 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


139 


the  cellar,  presuming  that  was  the  prison.     When 
I  visited  the  place  again,  being  alone,  I  ventured  to 
the  spot,  determined  to  learn  the  truth,  presuming 
that  the  imprisoned  nuns,  of  whom  the  Superior 
had  told  me  on  my  admission,  were  confined  there. 
I  spoke  at  the  window  where  I  had  seen  the  nun 
standing,  and  heard  a  voice  reply  in  a  whisper. 
The  aperture  was  so  small,  and  the  place  so  dark, 
that  I  could  see  nobody ;  but  I  learnt  that  a  poor 
wretch  was  confined  there  a  prisoner.      I  feared 
that  I  might  be  discovered,  and  after  a  few  words, 
which  I  thought  could  do  no  harm,  I  withdrew. 

My  curiosity  was  now  alive,  to  learn  every  thing 
1  could  about  so  mysterious  a  subj  ect.  I  made  a  few 
mquiries  of  Saint  Xavier,  who  only  informed  me 
that  they  were  punished  for  refusing  to  obey  the 
Superior,  Bishop,  and  Priests.  I  afterward  found 
that  the  other  nuns  were  acquainted  with  the  fact 
I  had  just  discovered.  All  I  could  learn,  however, 
was,  that  the  prisoner  in  the  cell  whom  I  had 
spoken  with,  and  another  in  the  cell  just  beyond, 
had  bec»:i  confined  there  several  years  without 
having  been  taken  out;  but  their  names,  connex- 
ions, offences,  and  every  thing  else  relating  to  them, 
I  could  never  learn,  and  am  still  as  ignorant  of  as 
Some  conjectured  that  they  had  refused  to 


ever. 


comply  with  some  of  the  rules  of  the  Convent  or 
requisitions  of  the  Superior;  others,  that  they  were 
heiresses  whose  property  was  desired  for  the  Con- 
vent, and  who  would  not  consent  to  sign  deeds  of  it. 
Some  of  the  nuns  informed  me,  that  the  severest  of 


m 

1 


,  \ 


'^^'\ 


u 


('!; 


.Hr 


ir  '* 


'  (1 


i 


1 1 ' 


'    c 


; 


\       1 


'  '»! 


k 


a. 


'I  I 


1      I 


I   i ' ' 


':!!■ 


)t,      if, 


!■ 


V 


I  r! 


.1   '  e  'I 


■1     ,»  ? ; 


h    r 


X  ■ 

„    i 


140 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


their  sufferings  arose  from  fear  of  supernatural 
beings. 

I  often  spoke  with  one  of  them  in  passing  near 
their  cells,  when  on  errands  in  the  cellar,  but  never 
ventured  to  stop  long,  or  to  press  my  inquiries  very 
far.  Besides,  I  found  her  reserved,  and  little  dis- 
posed to  converse  freely,  a  thing  I  could  not  won- 
der at  when  I  considered  her  situation,  and  the  chai- 
acters  of  persons  around  her.  She  spoke  like  a 
woman  in  feeble  health,  and  of  broken  spirits.  I 
occasionally  saw  other  nuns  speaking  to  them,  par- 
ticularly at  meal-times,  when  they  were  regularly 
furnished  with  food,  which  was  such  as  we  our- 
selves ate. 

Their  cells  were  occasionally  cleaned,  and  then 
the  doors  were  opened.  I  never  looked  into  them, 
but  was  informed  that  the  ground  was  their  only 
floor.  I  presumed  that  they  were  furnished  with 
straw  to  lie  upon,  as  I  always  saw  a  quantity  of  old 
straw  scattered  about  that  part  of  the  cellar,  after  he 
cells  had  been  cleansed.  I  once  inquired  of  one  of 
them,  whether  they  could  converse  together,  and 
she  replied  that  they  could,  through  a  small  open- 
ing between  their  cells,  Avhich  I  could  not  see. 

I  once  inquired  of  the  one  I  spoke  with  in  pass- 
ing, whether  she  wanted  any  thing,  and  she  replied, 
*•  Tell  Jane  Ray  I  want  to  see  her  a  moment  if  she 
can  slip  away."  When  I  went  up  I  took  an  oppor- 
tunity to  deliver  my  message  to  Jane,  who  concert- 
ed with  me  a  signal  to  be  used  in  future,  in  case  a 
similar  request  should  be  made  through  me.     Thii 


BLACK   NUNNERy. 


141 


was  a  sly  wink  at  her  with  one  eye,  accompanied 
with  a  slight  toss  of  my  head.  She  then  sought  an 
opponunity  to  visit  the  cellar,  and  was  soon  able  to 
hold  an  interview  with  the  poor  prisoners,  without 
being  noticed  by  any  one  but  myself.  I  afterward 
learnt  that  mad  Jane  Ray  was  not  so  mad,  but  she 
could  feel  for  those  miserable  beings,  and  carry 
through  measures  for  their  comfort.  She  would 
often  visit  them  with  sympathizing  words,  and, 
when  necessary,  conceal  part  of  her  food  while  at 
table,  and  secretly  convey  it  into  their  dungeons. 
Sometimes  we  would  coijabine  lor  such  an  object; 
and  I  have  repeatedly  aided  her  in  thus  obtaining 
a  larger  supply  of  food  than  they  had  been  able  to 
obtain  from  others. 

I  frequently  thought  of  the  two  nuns  confined  in 
the  cells,  and  occasionally  heard  something  said 
about  them,  but  very  little.  Whenever  I  visited  the 
cellar,  and  thought  it  safe,  I  went  up  to  the  first  of 
them  and  spoke  a  word  or  tw^o,  and  u&ually  got 
some  brief  reply,  without  ascertaining  that  any 
particular  change  took  place  with  either  of  them. 
The  one  with  whom  alone  I  ever  conversed,  spoke 
English  perfectly  well,  and  French  I  thought  as 
well.  I  supposed  she  must  have  been  well  educa- 
ted, for  I  could  not  tell  which  was  her  native  lan- 
guage. I  remember  that  she  frequently  used  these 
words  when  I  wished  to  say  more  to  her,  and  which 
alone  showed  that  she  was  constantly  afraid  of  pun- 
ifihmcnt :  •♦  Oh,  there's  somebody  coming — do  go 


,  I 


•  i' 


V   .'■ 


1   ! 


•if 


nil 


I  i 


':( 


I. 


Ill, 


'I  t 


•  ■  I 

|i 

.  I  : 

.    I     ■ 


i I       it   J 


\ 

4 

■■■' 


/ 


n4    ' 


I' 


h\'f 


■  :    ,  if 


I 


J 


i  : 


r  :,»-| 


142 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


away!"     I  have  been  told  that  the  other  prisoner 
also  spoke  English. 

It  was  impossible  for  me  to  form  any  certain 
opinion  about  the  size  or  appearance  of  those  two 
miserable  creatures,  for  their  cells  were  perfectly 
dark,  and  I  never  caught  the  slightest  glimpse  even 
of  their  faces.  It  is  probable  they  were  women  not 
above  the  middle  size,  and  my  reason  for  this  pre- 
sumption is  the  following:  I  was  sometimes  ap- 
pointed to  lay  out  the  clean  clothes  for  all  the  nuns 
in  the  Convent  on  Saturday  evening,  and  was  al- 
ways directed  to  lay  by  two  suits  for  the  prisoners. 
Particular  orders  were  given  to  select  the  largest 
sized  garments  for  several  tall  nuns;  but  nothing  of 
the  kind  was  ever  said  in  relation  to  the  clothes  for 
those  in  the  cells. 

I  had  not  been  long  a  veiled  nun,  before  I  request- 
ed of  the  Superior  permission  to  confess  to  the 
"Saint  Bon  Pasteur,"  (Holy  Good  Shepherd,)  that 
is,  the  mysterious  and  nameless  nun  whom  I  had 
heard  of  while  a  novice.  I  knew  of  several  others 
who  had  confessed  to  her  at  different  times,  and  of 
some  who  had  sent  their  clothes  to  be  touched  by 
her  when  they  were  sick;  and  I  felt  a  desire  to  un- 
burden my  heart  of  certain  things,  which  I  was 
loath  to  acknowledge  to  the  Superior,  or  any  of  the 
priests. 

The  Superior  made  me  wait  a  little,  until  she 
could  ascertain  whether  the  "Saint  Bon  Pasteur" 
was  ready  to  admit  me ;  and  after  a  time  returned, 
and  told  me  to  enter  the  old  nuns*  room.     That 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


143 


apartment  has  twelve  beds,  arranged  like  the  berths 
of  a  ship,  by  threes ;  and  as  each  is  broad  enough 
to  receive  two  persons,  twenty-four  may  be  lodged 
there,  which  was  about  the  number  of  old  nuns  in 
the  Convent  during  most  of  my  stay  in  it.  Near 
an  opposite  corner  of  the  apartment  was  a  large 
glass  case,  with  no  appearance  of  a  door,  or  other 
opening,  in  any  part  of  it;  and  in  that  case  stood 
the  venerable  nun,  in  the  dress  of  the  community, 
with  her  thick  veil  spread  over  her  face,  so  as  to 
conceal  it  entirely.  She  was  standing,  for  the  place 
did  not  allow  room  for  sitting,  and  moved  a  little, 
which  was  the  only  sign  of  life,  as  she  did  not 
speak.  I  fell  upon  my  knees  before  her,  and  began 
to  confess  some  of  my  imperfections,  which  lay 
heavy  upon  my  mind,  imploring  her  aid  and  inter- 
cession, that  I  might  be  delivered  from  them.  She 
appeared  to  listen  to  me  with  patience,  but  still  never 
returned  a  word  in  reply.  I  became  much  affected 
as  I  went  on,  and  at  length  began  to  weep  bitterly ; 
and  when  I  withdrew,  was  in  tears.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  my  heart  was  remarkably  relieved  after  this 
exercise,  and  all  the  requests  I  had  made,  I  found, 
as  I  believed,  strictly  fulfilled.  I  often,  afterward, 
visited  the  old  nuns'  room  for  the  same  purpose,  and 
with  similar  results,  so  that  my  belief  in  the  sanctity 
of  the  nameless  nun,  and  my  regard  for  her  inter- 
cession, were  unbounded. 

What  IS  remarkable,  though  I  repeatedly  w^as 
sent  into  that  room  to  dust  it,  or  to  put  it  in  order, 
I  remarked  that  the  glass  case  was  vacant,  and  no 


li 


it  •• 


^1 


1} 


'\1 


'■i 


■  I 


'(■ 


y\  't  ■  ,  j 


.1  > 


'■  ''    1 

f  m 


f|ff'*jif|:j 


i" 

t 

i'l 


i 


im' ' 


»  !     i 


fi 


'If 


;  !■ 


t( 


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1.-,... 


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'» «i  1  y  I 


144 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


sigtis  were  to  be  found  either  of  the  nun  or  of  the 
way  by  which  she  had  leil  it ;  so  that  a  solemn  con- 
elusion  rested  upon  my  mind,  that  she  had  gone  on 
one  of  her  frequent  visits  to  heaven. 

A  priest  would  sometimes  come  in  the  daytime  to 
teach  us  to  sing,  and  this  was  done  with  some  pa- 
rade or  stir,  as  if  it  were  considered,  or  meant  to  bo 
considered,  as  a  thing  of  importance. 

The  instructions,  however,  were  entirely  repe- 
titions of  the  words  and  tunes,  nothing  being  taught 
even  of  the  first  principles  of  the  science.  It  ap- 
peared to  me,  that  although  hymns  alone  were 
sung,  the  exercise  was  chiefly  designed  for  our 
amusement,  to  raise  our  spirits  a  little,  which  were 
apt  to  become  depressed.  Mad  Jane  Ray  certainly 
usually  treated  the  whole  thing  as  a  matter  of  sport, 
and  often  excited  those  of  us  who  understood  Eng- 
lish to  a  great  degree  of  mirth.  She  had  a  very 
fine  voice,  wJiich  was  so  powerful  as  generally  to 
be  heard  above  the  rest.  Sometimes  she  would  be 
silent  when  the  other  nuns  began;  and  the  Supe- 
rior would  often  call  out,  "Jane  Ray,  you  don't 
sing."  She  always  had  some  trifling  excuse  ready, 
and  commonly  appeared  unwilling  to  join  the  rest. 

After  being  urged  or  commanded  by  the  Superior, 
she  would  then  strike  up  some  English  song,  or 
profane  parody,  which  was  rendered  ten  times  more 
ridiculous  by  the  ignorance  of  the  Lady  Superior 
and  the  majority  of  the  nuns.  I  cannot  help  laugh- 
ing now  when  I  remember  how  she  used  to  stand 
with  perfect  composure  and  sing. 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 

"  I  Wish  I  was  married  and  nothing  to  rue, 
With  plenty  of  mone./  and  nothing  to  do." 


145 


**Jane  Ray,  you  don't  sing  right,"  the  Superior 
would  exclaim.  "  Oh,"  she  would  reply,  with  per- 
fect coolness,  "  that  is  the  English  for, 

'  Seigneur  Dieu  do  clemence, 
Regois  ce  grand  pecheur;" ' 

and,  as  sung  by  her,  a  person  ignorant  of  the  lan- 
guage would  naturally  be  imposed  upon.  It  was 
extremely  difficult  for  me  to  conceal  my  laughter. 
I  have  always  had  greater  exertion  to  make  in  re- 
pressing it  than  most  other  persons ;  and  mad  Jane 
Ray  often  took  advantage  of  this. 

Saturday  evening  usually  brought  with  it  much 
unpleasant  work  for  some  of  us.  We  received  the 
Sacrament  ever  ^imday;  and  in  preparation  for  it, 
on  Saturday  ev .  p  ig  we  asked  pardon  of  the  Supe- 
rior and  of  each  other  "for  the  scandal  we  had 
caused  them  since  we  last  received  the  Sacrament," 
and  then  asked  the  Superior's  permission  to  receive 
it  on  the  following  day.  She  inquired  of  each  nun 
who  necessarily  asked  her  permission,  whether  she, 
naming  her  as  Saint  somebody,  had  concealed  any 
sin  that  should  hinder  her  receiving  it ;  and  i[  the 
answer  was  in  the  negative,  she  granted  her  per- 
mission. 

On  Saturdays  we  were  catechised  by  a  priest, 
being  assembled  in  a  community-room.  He  sat  on 
the  right  of  the  door  in  a  chair.  He  often  told 
us  stories,  and  frequently  enlarged  on  the  duty  of 
enticing  novices  into  the  nunnery.  "Do  you  not 
13 


'/■ 


VI 


■ '' 


r  I 


•n 


;! 


■!  \ 


m 


,, 


V; 


\     I 


')    I'M 


I  ■ 


i  t 


146 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


ts 


U'^ 


^  J 


feel  happy,"  he  would  say,  "now  that  you  are  safely 
out  of  the  world,  and  sure  of  heaven  ?  But  remem- 
ber how  many  poor  people  are  yet  in  the  world. 
Every  novice  you  influence  to  take  the  black  veil, 
will  add  to  your  honour  in  heaven.  Teil  them  how 
happy  you  are." 

The  Superior  played  one  trick  while  I  was  in  the 
Convent,  which  always  passed  for  one  of  the  most 
admirable  she  ever  carried  into  execution.  We 
were  pretty  good  judges  in  a  case  of  this  kind,  for, 
as  may  be  presumed,  we  were  rendered  familiar 
with  the  arts  of  deception  under  so  accomplished  a 
teacher. 

There  was  an  ornament  on  hand  in  the  nunnery, 
of  an  extraordinary  kind,  which  was  prized  at  ten 
pounds ;  but  it  had  been  made  and  exposed  to  view 
so  long,  that  it  became  damaged  and  quite  unsalea- 
ble.    We  were  one  day  visited  by  an  old  priest 
from  the  country,  who  was  evidently  somewhat  in- 
toxicated ;  and  as  he  withdrew  to  go  to  his  lodgings, 
in  the  Seminary,  where  the  country  priests  often 
stay,  the  Superior  conceived  a  plan  for  disposing  of 
the  old  ornament.     "  Come,"  said  she,  "  we  will 
pend  it  to  the  old  priest,  and  swear  he  has  bought  it!" 
We  all  approved  of  the  ingenious  device,  for  it 
evidently  niight  be  classed  among  the  pious  frauds 
we  had  so  often  had  recommended  to  us  both  by  pre- 
cept and  example ;  and  the  ornament  was  sent  to 
him  the  next  morning,  as  his  property  when  paid 
for.     He  soon  came  into  the  Convent,  and  expressed 
the  greatest  surprise  that  he  had  been  charged  with 


lU'^i 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


U7 


purchasing  such  a  thing,  for  which  he  had  no  need 
and  no  desire. 

The  Superior  heard  his  declaration  with  patience, 
but  politely  insisted  that  it  was  a  fair  bargain ;  and 
we  then  surrounded  the  old  priest,  with  the  strongest 
assertions  that  such  was  the  fact,  and  that  nobody 
would  ever  have  thought  of  his  purchasing  it  un- 
less he  had  expr*  ssly  engaged  to  take  it.  The  poor 
old  man  was  entirely  put  down.  He  was  certain 
of  the  truth ;  but  what  could  he  do  to  resist  or  dis- 
prove a  direct  falsehood  pronounced  by  the  Supe- 
rior of  a  Convent,  and  sworn  to  by  all  her  holy 
nuns  ?  He  finally  expressed  his  conviction  that  w« 
were  right :  he  was  compelled  to  pay  his  money. 


'  «i  ■■ 


i  i::v 


<    a 


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;' 


.(■' 


1    I 


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[l,2:ii.        i* 


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1 

^riir 

V    i  |-|,  in 

".  1  *,■ 

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j  :M  pi  I: 

B       '    '  ■              '                 * 

llfl-^    1 

■  i  i-'       ^ 

I  i. 

Ir 


n 


il,'      i 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Frequency  of  the  Priests^  Visits  to  the  Nunnery— Thtir  Free- 
dom and  Crimes— Difficulty  of  learning  their  Names— 
Their  Holy  Retreat— Objections  in  our  minds— Means  used 
to  counteract  Conscience— Ingenious  Arguments. 

Some  of  the  priests  from  the  Seminary  were  in 
the  nunnery  every  day  and  night,  and  often  several 
at  a  time.  I  have  seen  nearly  all  of  them  at  dif- 
ferent times,  though  there  are  about  ore  hundred 
and  fifty  in  the  district  of  Montreal.  There  was  a 
difference  in  their  conduct ;  though  I  believe  every 
one  of  them  was  guilty  of  licentiousness;  while 
not  one  did  I  ever  see  who  maintained  a  character 
any  way  becoming  the  profession  of  a  priest.  Some 
were  gross  and  degraded  in  a  degree  which  few  of 
my  readers  can  ever  have  imagined ;  and  I  should 
be  unwilling  to  offend  the  eye,  and  corrupt  the  heart 
of  any  one,  by  an  account  of  their  words  and  ac- 
tions. Few  imaginations  can  conceive  deeds  so 
abominable  as  they  practised,  and  often  required  of 
some  of  the  poor  women,  under  the  fear  of  severe 
punishments,  and  even  of  death.  I  do  not  hesitate 
to  say  with  the  strongest  confidence,  that  although 
some  of  the  nuns  became  lost  to  every  sentiment  of 
virtue  and  honour,  especially  one  from  the  Congre- 
gational Nunnery  whom  I  have  before  mentioned, 
Saint  Patrick,  the  greater  part  of  them  loathed  the 
practices  to  which  they  were  compelled  to  submit 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


140 


by  the  Superior  and  priests,  who  kept  them  under  so 
dreadful  a  bondage. 

Some  of  the  priests  whom  I  saw  I  never  knew 
byname,  and  the  names  of  others  I  did  not  learn  for 
a  time,  and  at  last  learnt  only  by  accident. 

They  were  always  called  "  Mon  pere,"  my  father ; 
but  sometimes,  when  they  had  purchased  some- 
thing in  the  ornament-room,  they  would  give  their 
real  names,  with  directions  where  it  should  be  sent. 
Many  names,  thus  learnt,  and  in  other  ways,  were 
whispered  about  from  nun  to  nun,  and  became  pret- 
ty generally  known.  Several  of  the  priests,  some 
of  us  had  seen  before  we  entered  the  Convent. 

Many  things  of  which  I  speak,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  must  necessarily  rest  chiefly  upon  my 
own  word,  until  further  evidence  can  be  obtained : 
but  there  are  some  facts  for  which  I  can  appeal  to 
the  knowledge  of  others.  It  is  commonly  known 
in  Montreal  that  some  of  the  priests  occasionally 
withdraw  from  their  customary  employments,  and 
are  not  to  be  seen  for  some  time,  it  being  understood 
that  they  have  retired  for  religious  study,  medita 
tion,  and  devotion,  for  the  improvement  of  their 
hearts.  Sometimes  the/  are  thus  withdrawn  from 
the  world  for  weeks :  but  there  is  no  fixed  period. 

This  was  a  fact  I  knew  before  I  took  the  veil ; 
for  it  is  a  frequent  subject  of  remark,  that  such  or 
such  a  Father  is  on  a  "  holy  retreat."  This  is  a  term 
which  conveys  the  idea  of  a  religious  seclusion 
from  the  world  for  sacred  purposes.  On  the  re- 
appearance of  a  priest  after  such  a  period,  in  th« 
18* 


1^1 


M 


h  ; 


it! 


II 


':1 


'1! 


I 


m 


mh 


ill 

:llit 


,u 


^•h: 


■>  I   t 


i 


n 


<!  I 


1       ' 


-v^ 


!l  ;. 


I  \  t        s,. 


mm 


!1 


n 


iP 


150 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


church  or  the  streets,  it  is  natural  to  feel  a  peculiar 
impression  of  his  devout  character — an  impression 
very  different  from  that  conveyed  to  the  mind  of  one 
who  knows  matters  as  they  really  are.  Suspicions 
have  been  indulged  by  some  in  Canada  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  facts  are  known  by  at  least  a  few.  I  am 
able  to  speak  from  personal  knowledge :  for  I  have 
been  a  nun  of  Soeur  Bourgeoise. 

The  priests  are  liable,  by  their  dissolute  habits,  to 
occasional  attacks  of  disease,  which  render  it  neces- 
sary, or  at  least  prudent,  to  submit  to  medical  treat- 
ment. 

In  the  Black  Nunnery  they  find  private  accommo- 
dations, for  they  are  free  to  enter  one  of  the  private 
hospitals  whenever  they  please ;  which  is  a  room 
set  apart  on  purpose  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
priests,  and  is  called  a  retreat-room.  But  an  excuse 
is  necessary  to  blind  the  public,  and  this  they  find 
in  the  pretence  they  make  of  being  in  a  "  Holy 
Retreat."  Many  such  cases  have  I  known ;  and  I 
can  mention  the  names  of  priests  who  have  been  con- 
fined in  this  Holy  Retreat.  They  are  very  carefiilly 
attended  by  the  Superior  and  old  nuns,  and  their  diet 
mostly  consists  of  vegetable  soups,  &c.  with  but  lit- 
tle meat,  and  that  fresh.  1  have  seen  an  instrument 
of  surgery  laying  upon  the  table  in  that  holy  room, 
which  is  used  only  for  particular  purposes. 

Father  Tabeau,  a  Roman  priest,  was  on  one  of 
his  holy  retreats  about  the  time  when  I  left  the 
nunnery.     There  are  sometimes  a  number  confined 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


151 


there  at  the  same  time.     The  victims  of  these  priests 
frequently  share  the  same  fate. 

I  have  often  reflected  how  grievously  I  had  been 
deceived  in  my  opinions  of  a  nun's  condition !  All 
the  holiness  of  their  lives,  I  now  saw,  was  merely 
pretended.  The  appearance  of  sanctity  and  heaven- 
ly mindedness  which  they  had  shown  among  us  nov- 
ices, I  found  was  only  a  disguise  to  conceal  such 
practices  as  would  not  be  tolerated  in  any  decent 
society  in  the  world;  and  as  for  peace  and  joy 
like  that  of  heaven,  which  I  had  expected  to  find 
among  them,  I  learnt  too  well  that  they  did  not 
exist  there. 

The  only  way  in  which  such  thoughts  were  coun- 
teracted, was  by  the  constant  instructions  given  us  by 
the  Superior  and  priests,  to  regard  every  doubt  as  a 
mortal  sin.  Other  fauhs  we  might  have,  as  we  were 
told  over  and  over  again,  which,  though  worthy  of 
penances,  were  far  less  sinful  than  these.  For  a 
nun  to  doubt  that  she  was  doing  her  duty  in  fulfilling 
her  vows  and  oaths,  was  a  heinous  offence,  and  we 
were  exhorted  always  to  suppress  our  doubts,  to 
confess  them  without  reserve,  and  cheerfully  to  sub- 
mit to  severe  penances  on  account  of  them,  as  the 
only  means  of  mortifying  our  evil  dispositions,  and 
resisting  the  temptations  of  the  devil.  Thus  we 
learnt  in  a  good  degree  to  resist  our  minds  and  con- 
sciences, when  we  felt  the  first  rising  of  a  question 
about  the  duty  of  doing  any  thing  required  of  us. 

To  enforce  this  upon  us,  they  employed  various 
means.    Some  of  the  most  striking  stories  told  us 


!  'I . 


J   1. 


i  t 


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1    J 


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V5% 


BLACK   VUNHBKT. 


at  catechism  by  the  priests,  were  designed  for  this 
end.  One  of  these  I  will  repeat.  One  day,  as 
a  priest  assured  us  who  was  hearing  us  say  the  cat. 
echism  on  Saturday  afternoon,  as  one  Monsieur 
•  •  *  *,  a  well-known  citizen  of  Montreal,  was 
walking  near  the  cathedral,  he  saw  Satan  giving 
orders  to  numerous  evil  spirits  who  had  assembled 
around  him.  Being  afraid  of  being  seen,  and  yet 
wishing  to  observe  what  was  done,  he  hid  himself 
where  he  could  observe  all  that  passed.  Satan  des- 
patched his  devils  to  different  parts  of  the  city,  with 
directions  to  do  their  best  for  him ;  and  they  return, 
ed  in  a  short  time,  bringing  in  reports  of  their  suc- 
cess in  leading  persons  of  different  classes  to  the 
commission  of  various  sins,  which  they  thought 
would  be  agreeable  to  their  master.  Satan,  however, 
expressed  his  dissatisfaction,  and  ordered  them  out 
again ;  but  just  then  a  spirit  from  the  Black  Nun- 
nery came,  who  had  not  been  seen  before,  and  stated 
that  he  had  been  trying  for  seven  years  to  persuade 
one  of  the  nuns  to  doubt,  and  had  just  succeeded. 
Satan  received  the  intelligence  with  the  highest 
pleasure;  and  turning  to  the  spirits  around  hitn, 
said :  "  You  have  not  half  done  your  work — he  has 
done  much  more  than  all  of  you." 

In  spite,  however,  of  our  instructions  and  warn- 
ings, our  fears  and  penances,  such  doubts  would  in- 
trude ;  and  I  have  often  indulged  them  for  a  time, 
and  at  length,  yielding  to  the  belief  that  I  was  wrong 
in  giving  place  to  them,  would  confess  them,  and 
undergo  with  cheerfulness  such  new  penances  as  I 


I  'fir I. 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


1^3 


was  loaded  with.  Others  too  would  occasionally 
entertain  and  privately  express  such  doubts ;  though 
we  all  had  been  most  solemnly  warned  by  the  cruel 
murder  of  Saint  Francis.  Occasionally  some  of 
the  nuns  would  go  further,  and  resist  the  restraints 
or  punishments  imposed  upon  them;  and  it  was 
not  uncommon  to  hear  screams,  sometimes  of  a 
most  piercing  and  terrific  kind,  from  nuns  suffering 
under  discipline. 

Some  of  my  readers  may  feel  disposed  to  exclaim 
against  me,  for  believing  things,  which  will  strike 
them  as  so  monstrous  and  abominable.     To  such,  I 
would  say,  without  pretending  to  justify  myself — 
You  know  little  of  the  position  in  which  I  was 
placed :  in  the  first  place,  ignorant  of  any  other  re- 
ligious doctrines ;  and  in  the  second,  met  at  every 
moment  by  some  ingenious  argument,  and  the  ex- 
ample of  a  large  community,  who  received  all  the 
instructions  of  the  priests  as  of  undoubted  truth,  and 
practised  upon  them.     Of  the  variety  and  specious- 
ncss  of  the  arguments  used,  you  cannot  have  any 
correct  idea.     They  were  often  so  ready  with  re- 
plies, examples,  anecdotes,  and  authorities,  to  enforce 
their  doctrines,  that  it  seemed  to  me  they  could  never 
have  learnt  it  all  from  books,  but  must  have  been 
taught  by  wicked  spirits.     Indeed,  when  I  reflect 
upon  their  conversations,  I  am  astonished  at  their 
art  and  address,  and  find  it  difficult  to  account  for 
their  subtlety  and  success  in  influencing  my  mind, 
and  persuading  me  to  any  thing  they  pleased.     It 
seems  to  me,  that  hardly  anybody  would  be  safe  in 


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IMu 


I  ■  ■ 


164 


BLACK   NUNNKIT. 


their  hands.  If  you  were  to  go  to  confession  twice, 
I  believe  you  would  feel  very  differently  from  what 
you  do  now.  They  have  such  a  way  of  avoiding 
one  thing,  and  speaking  of  another,  of  affirming  this, 
and  doubting  or  disputing  that,  of  quoting  authori- 
ties, and  speaking  of  wonders  and  miracles  recently 
performed,  in  confirmation  of  what  they  teach,  as 
familiarly  known  to  persons  whom  they  call  by 
name,  and  whom  they  pretend  to  oflfer  as  witnesses, 
*  though  they  never  give  you  an  opportunity  to  speak 
with  them — these,  and  many  other  means,  they 
use  in  such  a  way,  that  they  always  blinded  my 
mind,  and,  I  should  think,  would  blind  the  minda 
tff  others. 


iiH^i-i 


'     , 


I   I 


i 


'•iiii*  I 


li 


(in     t(f 


St  I  ill, 


ill 

MWV 


Ilif 


uw 


;|. 


i 


ill 


I    ' 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Treatment  qf  young  Infanta  in  the  Convent— Talking  Im 
Sleep— 'Amusemcnta—Ceremoniea  at  the  public  intenneni  tif 
deceased  Nans— Sudden  disappearance  of  the  Old  Superior 
—Introduction  cf  the  new  one— Superstition— Alarm  qf  a 
Nun — DifUculty  cf  Communication  with  other  Nuns. 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  I  was  informed  im- 
mediately after  receiving  the  veil,  that  infants  w\^Te 
occasionally  murdered  in  the  Convent.  I  was  ine 
day  in  the  nuns'  private  sick-room,  when  I  had  an 
opportunity,  unsought  for,  of  witnessing  deeds  of 
such  a  nature.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  month  after  the 
death  of  Saint  Francis.  Two  little  twin  babes,  the 
children  of  Sainte  Catharine,  were  brought  to  a 
priest,  who  was  in  the  room,  for  baptism.  I  was 
present  while  the  ceremony  was  performed,  wUh 
the  Superior  and  several  of  the  old  nuns,  whose 
names  I  never  knew,  they  being  called  Ma  tante^ 
Aunt. 

The  priests  took  turns  in  attending  to  confession 
and  catechism  in  the  Convent,  usually  three  i  .oT^ths 
at  a  time,  though  sometimes  longer  periods.  The 
priest  then  on  duty  was  Father  Larkin.  He  is  a 
good-looking  European,  and  has  a  brot}ier  who  is 
a  professor  in  the  college.  He  baptized,  and  then 
put  oil  upon  the  heads  of  the  infants,  as  is  the  cu»> 
torn  after  baptism.  They  were  then  taken,  ono 
after  another,  by  one  of  the  old  nuns,  in  the  pres- 


a'^)vvv-s 


'A  I 


1) 


r 


!'! 


r 


i\ 


I  I 


I-  ;*' ' 


jHi 


•    t 


'  1 


<i  ,1 ' 


I 


m 

pi 

'! 

I'l 

a 

[        \ 

i 

1 

■1 

1     . 

;.  t  i 


l\^' 


t      ■  1 


1'f 


i 


:u 


it'll 


i'i 


t! 


h       » 


H||l|i 


j|:: 


156 


\ 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


ence  of  us  all.  She  pressed  her  hand  upon  tho 
mouth  and  nose  of  the  first,  so  tight  that  it  could 
not  breathe,  and  in  a  few  minutes,  when  the  hand 
was  removed,  it  was  dead.  She  then  took  the  other, 
and  treated  it  in  the  same  way.  No  sound  was 
heard,  and  both  the  children  were  corpses.  The 
greatest  indifference  was  shown  by  all  present  du- 
ring this  operation ;  for  all,  as  I  well  knew,  were 
long  accustomed  to  such  scenes.  The  little  bodies 
were  then  taken  into  the  cellar,  thrown  into  the  pit 
I  have  mentioned,  and  covered  with  a  quantity  of 
lime. 

I  afterward  saw  another  new-born  ipfant  treated 
in  the  same  manner,  in  the  same  place :  but  the  ac- 
tors in  the  scene  I  choose  not  to  name,  nor  the  cir- 
cumstances, as  every  thing  connected  with  it  is  of  a 
peculiarly  trying  and  painful  nature  to  my  own 
feelings. 

These  were  the  only  instances  of  infanticide  1 
witnessed ;  and  it  seemed  to  be  merely  owing  to  ac- 
cident that  I  was  then  present.  So  far  as  I  know, 
there  were  no  pains  taken  to  preserve  secrecy  on 
this  subject ;  that  is,  I  saw  no  attempt  made  to  keep 
any  of  the  inmates  of  the  Convent  in  ignorance  of 
the  murder  of  children.  On  the  contrary,  others 
were  told,  as  well  as  myself,  on  their  first  admission 
as  veiled  nuns,  that  all  infants,  born  in  the  place 
were  baptized  and  killed,  without  loss  of  time ;  and 
I  had  been  called  to  witness  the  murder  of  the  three 
just  mentioned,  only  because  I  happened  to  be  in 
the  room  at  the  time. 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


167 


i;  wi 


That  others  were  killed  m  the  same  manner  du< 
ring  my  stay  in  the  nunnery,  I  am  well  assured. 

How  many  there  were  I  cannot  tell,  and  having 
taken  no  account  of  those  I  heard  of,  I  cannot  speak 
with  precision;  I  believe,  however,  that  I  learnt 
through  nuns,  that  at  least  eighteen  or  twenty  in- 
fants were  smothered,  and  secretly  buried  in  the 
cellar,  while  I  was  a  nun. 

One  of  the  effects  of  the  weariness  of  our  bodies 
and  minds,  was  our  proneness  to  talk  in  our  sleep. 
It  was  both  ludicrous  and  painful  to  hear  the  nuns 
repeat  their  prayers  in  the  course  of  the  night,  as 
they  frequently  did  in  their  dreams.     Required  to 
keep  our  minds  continually  on  the  stretch,  both  in 
watching  our  conduct,  in  remembering  the  rules 
and  our  prayers,  under  the  fear  of  the  consequences 
of  any  neglect,  when  we  closed  our  eyes  in  sleep, 
we  often  went  over  again  the  scenes  of  the  day ; 
and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  me  to  hear  a 
nun  repeat  one  or  two  of  our  long  exercises  in  the 
dead  of  night.     Sometimes,  by  the  time  she  had 
finished,  another,  in  a  different  part  of  the  room, 
would  happen  to  take  a  similar  turn,  and  commence 
a  similar  recitation ;  and  I  have  known  cases  in 
which  several  such  unconscious  exercises  were  per- 
formed, all  within  an  hour  or  two. 

We  had  now  and  then  a  recreation-day,  when  we 
were  relieved  from  our  customary  labour,  and  fromi 
all  \)rayers  except  those  for  morning  and  evening, 
and  the  short  ones  said  at  every  striking  of  the 
clock.  The  greater  part  of  our  time  was  then  oc- 
U 


>■  ;  • 


i.' 


•  1  '.  ii 


{;>■ 


t 


r 


,1 


•:!! 


it; 


1    ! 


:  ! 


■  ''I 


^    . 


i 


!;  ,♦ 


t         < 


:l    ^^ 


if 


''.lilf 

'■■[''! 

^ 

1:1  'i!i<,  '^^ 


158 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


cupied  with  different  games,  particularly  backgam- 
mon and  drafts,  and  m  such  conversation  as  did  not 
relate  to  our  past  lives,  and  the  outside  of  the  Con- 
vent. Sometimes,  however,  our  sports  would  be 
interrupted  on  such  days  by  the  entrance  of  one  of 
the  priests,  who  would  come  in  and  propose  that 
his  fi§te,  the  birthday  of  his  patron  saint,  should  be 
kept  by  "  the  saints."     We  saints  ! 

Several  nuns  died  at  different  times  while  I  was 
in  the  Convent ;  how  many  I  cannot  say,  but  there 
was  a  considerable  number :  I  might  rather  say, 
many  in  proportion  to  the  number  in  the  nunnery. 
The  proportion  of  deaths  I  am  sure  was  very  large. 
There  were  always  some  in  the  nuns'  sick-rooms, 
and  several  interments  took  place  in  the  chapel. 
-  When  a  Black  nun  is  dead,  the  corpse  is  dressed 
as  if  living,  and  placed  in  the  chapel  in  a  sitting 
posture,  within  the  railing  round  the  altar,  with  a 
book  in  the  hand,  as  if  reading.  Persons  are  then 
freely  admitted  from  the  street,  and  some  of  them 
kneel  and  pray  before  it.  No  particular  notoriety 
is  given,  I  believe,  to  this  exhibition  out  of  the  Con- 
vent ;  but  such  a  case  usually  excites  some  atten- 
tion. 

»  The  living  nuns  are  required  to  say  prayers  for 
the  delivery  of  their  deceased  sister  from  purga- 
tory, being  informed,  as  in  all  other  such  cases,  that 
if  she  is  not  there,  and  has  no  need  of  our  inter- 
cession, our  prayers  are  in  no  danger  of  bfeing 
thrown  away,  as  they  will  be  set  down  to  the  ac- 
count of  some  of  our  departed  friends,  or  at  least 


I'l 


M 1 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


159 


to  that  of  the  souls  which  have  no  acquaintances  to 
pray  for  them. 

It  was  customary  for  us  occasionally  to  kneel 
before  a  dead  nun  thus  seated  in  the  chapel,  and  I 
have  often  performed  that  task.  It  was  always 
painful,  for  the  ghastly  countenance  being  seen 
whenever  I  raised  my  eyes,  and  the  feeling  that 
the  position  and  dress  were  entirely  opposed  to 
every  idea  of  propriety  in  such  a  case,  always  made 
me  melancholy. 

The  Superior  sometimes  left  the  Convent,  and 
was  absent  for  an  hour,  or  several  hours,  at  a  time, 
but  we  never  knew  of  it  until  she  Im  J  returned,  and 
were  not  informed  where  she  had  been.  I  one  day 
had  reason  to  presume  that  she  had  recently  paid  a 
visit  to  the  priests'  farm,  though  I  had  not  direct 
evidence  that  such  was  the  fact.  The  priests'  farm 
is  a  fine  tract  of  land  belonging  to  the  Seminary,  a 
little  distance  from  the  city,  near  the  Lachine  road, 
with  a  large  old-fashioned  edifice  upon  it.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  Superior's  room  on  the  day  al- 
luded to,  when  she  made  some  remark  on  the  plain- 
ness and  poverty  of  her  furniture.  I  replied,  thai 
she  was  not  proud,  and  could  not  be  dissatished  '^n 
that  account ;  she  answered — 

"  No ;  but  if  I  was,  how  much  superio"  if  the  fur- 
niture at  the  priests'  farm!  the  poorest  room  ther« 
is  furnished  better  than  the  best  of  mine." 

I  was  one  day  mending  the  fire  in  the  Superior's 
room,  when  a  priest  was  conversing  with  her  on 
Ihe  scarcity  of  money ;  and  I  heard  him  say,  that 


i   4 


It 


i!* 


:fn 


t.  Il 


' 


^  i'; 


r 


? 


in 


.    < 

i 

f 

■      f 
(     t 


\- 


V'. 


V   t    1 


il; 


'hi 

I*     ;    * 

t  ■' 


.r 


1; 


I 


■!'  i; 


li^ 


! 


l*isr 


160 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


very  little  money  was  received  by  the  priests  for 
prayers,  but  that  the  principal  part  came  with  pen- 
ances and  absolutions. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  and  unaccountable 
things  that  happened  in  the  Convent,  was  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  old  Superior.  She  had  perform- 
ed her  customary  part  during  the  day,  and  had 
acted  and  appeared  just  as  usual.  She  had  shown 
no  symptoms  of  ill  health,  met  with  no  particular 
difficulty  in  conducting  business,  and  no  agitation, 
anxiety,  or  gloom,  had  been  noticed  in  her  conduct. 
We  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  during  that  day 
she  had  expected  any  thing  particular  to  occur,  any 
more  than  the  rest  of  us.  After  the  close  of  our 
customary  labours  and  evening;  lecture,  she  dismiss- 
ed us  to  retire  to  bed,  exactly  in  her  usual  manner. 
The  next  morning  the  bell  rang,  we  sprang  from 
our  bed,  hurried  on  our  clothes  as  usual,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  the  community-room  in  double  line,  to 
commence  the  morning  exercises.  There,  to  our 
surprise,  we  found  Bishop  Lartigue ;  but  the  Supe- 
rior was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  The  Bishop  soon 
addressed  us,  instead  of  her,  and  informed  us,  that 
a  lady  near  him,  whom  he  presented  to  us,  was  now 
the  Superior  of  the  Convent,  and  enjoined  upon  us 
the  same  respect  and  obedience  which  we  had  paid 
to  her  predecessor. 

The  lady  he  introduced  to  us  was  one  of  our 
oldest  nuns,  Saint  Du  *  *  *  *,  a  very  large,  fleshy 
woman,  with  swelled  limbs,  which  rendered  her 
very  slow  in  walking,  and  often  gave  her  great  dis- 


BLACK    NUNNERir. 


161 


tres3.  Not  a  word  was  dropped  from  which  we 
could  conjecture  the  cause  of  this  change,  nor  of  the 
fate  of  the  old  Superior.  I  took  the  first  opportunity 
to  inquire  of  oYie  of  the  nuns,  whom  I  dared  talk 
to,  what  had  become  of  her ;  but  I  found  them  as 
ignorant  as  myself,  though  suspicious  that  she  had 
been  murdered  by  the  orders  of  the  Bishop.  Never 
did  I  obtain  any  light  on  her  mysterious  disappear- 
ance. I  am  confident,  however,  that  if  the  Bishop 
wished  to  get  rid  of  her  privately  and  by  foul 
means,  he  had  ample  opportunities  and  power  at 
his  command.  Jane  Ray,  as  usual,  could  not  al- 
low such  an  occurrence  to  pass  by  without  intima- 
ting her  ovim  suspicions  more  plainly  than  any 
other  of  the  nuns  would  have  dared  to  do.  She 
spoke  out  one  day,  in  the  community-room,  and 
said,  "  I'm  going  to  have  a  hunt  in  the  cellar  for 
my  old  Superior." 

"Hush,  Jane  Rav!"  exclaimed  some  of  the  nuns, 
"you'll  be  punished.'* 

"My  mother  used  to  tell  me,"  replied  Jane, 
•*  never  to  be  afraid  of  the  face  of  man." 

It  cannot  be  thought  strange  that  we  were  super- 
stitious. Some  were  more  easily  terrified  than 
others,  by  unaccountable  sights  and  sounds :  but  all 
of  us  believed  in  the  power  and  occasional  appear- 
ance of  spirits,  and  ware  ready  to  look  for  them  at 
almost  any  time.  I  have  seen  several  instances  of 
alarm  caused  by  such  superstition,  and  have  expe- 
rienced it  myself  more  than  once.  I  was  one  day 
sitting  mending  aprons,  beside  one  of  the  old  nuns, 
14* 


■  'i  I) 


h\ 


i  ! 


>■  i' 


i  s 


J 


7,  '< 


\.  h 


'.II 


v; 


(    • 


r 


fl 


•ii- 


■Hi 
1 1  ■Hi 


162 


BLACK    MVNNERY. 


in  a  community-room,  while  the  litanies  were  re- 
peating ;  as  I  was  very  easy  to  laugh,  Saint  Ignaoc, 
or  Agnes,  came  in,  walked  up  to  her  with  much 
agitation,  and  began  to  whisper  in  her  ear.  She 
usually  talked  but  little,  and  that  made  me  more 
curious  to  know  what  was  the  matter  with  her.  I 
overheard  her  say  to  the  old  nun,  in  much  alarm, 
that  in  the  cellar,  from  which  she  had  just  returned, 
she  had  heard  the  most  dreadful  groans  that  ever 
came  from  any  being.  This  was  enough  to  give 
me  uneasiness.  I  could  not  account  for  the  appear- 
ance of  an  evil  spirit  in  any  part  of  the  Convent,  for 
I  had  been  assured  that  the  only  one  ever  known 
there,  was  that  of  the  nun  who  had  died  with  an 
unconfessed  sin,  and  that  others  were  kept  at  a  dis- 
tance by  the  holy  water  that  was  rather  profusely 
used  in  different  parts  of  the  nunnery.  Still,  I  pre- 
sumed that  the  sounds  heard  by  Saint  Ignace  must 
have  proceeded  from  some  devil,  and  I  felt  great 
dread  |it  the  thought  of  visiting  the  cellar  again.  I 
determined  to  seek  further  information  of  the  terri- 
fied nun ;  but  when  I  addressed  her  on  the  subject, 
at  recreation-time,  the  first  opportunity  I  could  find, 
she  replied,  that  I  was  always  trying  to  make  her 
break  silence,  and  walked  off  to  another  group  in 
the  room,  so  that  I  could  obtain  no  satisfaction. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  our  nunnery,  we  were 
almost  entirely  cut  off  from  the  means  of  knowing 
any  thing,  even  of  each  other.  There  were  many 
nuns  whom  I  know  nothing  of  to  this  day,  after 
having  been  in  the  same  rooms  with  them  every 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


163 


day  and  night  for  many  months.  There  was  a  nun, 
whom  I  supposed  to  be  in  the  Convent,  and  whom 
I  was  anxious  to  learn  something  about  from  the 
time  of  my  entrance  as  a  novice ;  but  I  never  was 
able  to  learn  any  thing  concerning  her,  not  even 
whether  she  was  in  the  nunnery  or  not,  whether 
alive  or  dead.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  rich  fam- 
ily, residing  at  Point  aux  Trembles,  of  whom  I  had 
heard  my  mother  speak  before  I  entered  the  Con- 
vent. The  name  of  her  family  I  think  was  Lafay- 
ette, and  she  was  thought  to  be  from  Europe.  She 
was  known  to  have  taken  the  black  veil ;  but  as  I 
was  not  acquainted  with  the  name  of  the  Saint  she 
had  assumed,  and  I  could  not  describe  her  in  "  the 
world,"  all  my  inquiries  and  observations  proved 
entirely  in  vain. 

I  had  heard  before  my  entrance  into  the  Convent, 
that  one  of  the  nuns  had  made  her  escape  from  it 
during  the  last  war,  and  once  inquired  about  her  of 
the  Superior.  She  admitted  that  such  was  the  fact; 
but  I  was  never  able  to  learn  any  particulars  con- 
cerning her  name,  origin,  or  manner  of  escape. 


\W 


iil 


i:'Pl! 


, 


ii 


('  i; 


I  : 


i  ? 


.1 '    ! 


<■. 

i 
1  J) 

ti. 

,1'  \ 
i  'M  ■ 

, 

\\i 

1          ■ 

)  r 

1  1      J 

f 

i 

'  ,1 

t 

Ij . 

'"      '  !  1 

1 

\\  ;.  i 

:        .        'i 

> 

h   ' 

1  • ' ) 

V'- 

'It 

1 

1 

'i 

\  J-' 

••VMk'^ 

, ' '  I 

■iV  V' 

i    i  1 

w 

[1 

} 

U 

k". 

^   "  .M^  ! 

,1 

1^ 

'i   ♦' 


i    s       I:  ' 


CHAPTER   XVIIL 

/>Mappeara7u;e  of  Nuns— St.  Pierre— Gags— My  temporary 
Confinement  in  a  Cell— The  Cholera  Season— How  to  avoid 
it— Occupations  in  the  Convent  during  the  Pestilence— Man- 
ufacture  of  Wax  Candles — The  Election  Riots— Alarm 
among  the  Nuns — Preparations  for  Defence— Penances. 

I  AM  unable  to  say  how  many  nuns  disappeared 
while  I  was  in  the  Convent.  There  were  several. 
One  was  a  young  lady  called  St.  Pierre,  I  think, 
but  am  not  certain  of  her  name.  There  were  two 
nuns  by  this  name.  I  had  known  her  as  a  novice 
with  me.  She  had  been  a  novice  about  two  years 
and  a  half  before  J  became  one.  She  was  rather 
large  without  being  tall,  and  had  rather  dark  hair 
and  eyes.  She  disappeared  unaccountably,  and 
nothing  was  said  of  her  except  what  I  heard  in 
whispers  from  a  few  of  the  nuns,  as  we  found  mo- 
ments when  we  could  speak  unobserved. 

Some  told  me  they  thought  she  must  have  left 
the  Convent ;  and  I  might  have  supposed  so,  had  I 
not  some  time  afterward  found  some  of  her  things 
lying  about,  which  she  would,  in  such  a  case,  doubt- 
less have  taken  with  her.  I  never  had  known  any 
thing  more  of  her  than  what  I  could  observe  or  con- 
jecture. I  had  always,  however,  the  idea  that  her 
parents  or  iriendjs  were  wealthy,  for  she  sometimes 


■'t 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


165 


received  clothes  and  other  things,  which  were  very 
rich. 

Another  nun,  named  Saint  Paul,  died  suddenly ; 
but  as  in  other  cases,  we  knew  so  little,  or  rather 
were  so  entirely  ignorant  of  the  cause  and  circum- 
stances, that  we  could  only  conjecture ;  and  being 
forbidden  to  converse  freely  on  that  or  any  other 
subject,  thought  but  little  about  it.  I  have  mention- 
ed that  a  number  of  veiled  nuns  thus  mysteriously 
disappeared  during  my  residence  among  them.  1 
cannot  perhaps  recall  them  all,  but  I  am  confident 
there  were  as  many  as  five,  and  I  think  more.  All 
that  we  knew  in  such  cases  was,  that  one  of  our 
number  who  had  appeared  as  usual  when  last  ob- 
served, was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  and  never  was 
again.  Mad  Jane  Ray,  on  several  such  occasions, 
would  indulge  in  her  bold,  and,  as  we  thought,  dan- 
gerous remarks.  She  had  intimated  that  some  of 
those,  who  had  been  for  a  time  in  the  Convent, 
were  by  some  means  removed  to  make  way  for 
new  ones ;  and  it  was  generally  the  fact,  that  the 
disappearance  of  one  and  the  introduction  of  another 
into  our  community,  were  nearly  at  the  same  time. 
I  have  repeatedly  heard  Jane  Ray  say,  with  one  of 
her  significant  looks,  "When  you  appear,  some- 
body else  disappears !" 

It  is  unpleasant  enough  to  distress  or  torture  one's 
self;  but  there  is  something  worse  in  being  tor- 
mented by  others,  especially  where  they  resort  to 
force,  and  show  a  pleasure  in  compelling  you,  and 
leave  you  no  hope  of  escape,  or  opportunity  to  resist. 


ii 


ir 


1! 


i  \ 


1  ii 


i  -" 


\     ,i    t     ' 


I  I 


!,■; 


i     I 


h     1 


'^\ 


\l 

Yf . 

' 

.         1 

11  , 

'   1    ! 

1    ' 

I* 

1 

■'!   ? 

'' 

;!■ 

^  I 

1 

'.  1 

.   1, 

':•!■ 

1 

!n:li 


I  ,  . 


.  in^'' 


t-;  ii 


,fii 


If,' 


1:' 


i 


r .  ♦  ! 


166 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I  had  seen  the  gags  repeatedly  in  use,  and  some- 
times applied  with  a  roughness  which  seemed  ra- 
ther inhuman ;  hut  it  is  one  thing  to  see  and  an- 
other  thing  to  feel.  There  were  some  of  the  old 
nuns  who  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  oppressing 
those  who  fell  under  their  displeasure.  They  were 
ready  to  recommend  a  resort  to  compulsory  meas- 
ures, and  ever  ready  to  run  for  the  gags.  These 
were  kept  in  one  of  the  community-rooms,  in  a 
drawer  between  two  closets ;  and  there  a  stock  of 
about  fifty  of  them  was  always  in  deposite.  Some- 
times a  number  of  nuns  would  prove  refractory 
at  a  time ;  and  I  have  seen  battles  commenced,  in 
which  several  appeared  on  both  sides.  The  diso- 
bedient were,  however,  soon  overpowered ;  and  to 
prevent  their  screams  from  being  heard  beyond  the 
walls,  gagging  commenced  immediately.  I  have 
seen  half  a  dozen  lying  gagged  and  bound  at  once. 

,  I  have  been  subjected  to  the  same  state  of  invol- 
untary silence  more  than  once :  for  sometimes  I  be- 
came excited  to  a  state  of  desperation  by  the  meas- 
ures used  against  me,  and  then  conducted  in  a  man- 
ner perhaps  not  less  violent  than  some  others.  My 
hands  have  been  tied  behind  me,  and  a  gag  put 
into  my  mouth,  sometimes  with  such  force  and 
rudeness  as  to  lacerate  my  lips  and  cause  the  blood 
to  flow  freely. 

Treatwient  of  this  kind  is  apt  to  teach  submission, 
and  many  umes  I  have  acquiesced  under  orders  re- 
ceived, or  wishes  expressed,  with  a  fear  of  a  recur- 
rence to  some  severe  me»surea 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


IfT 


One  day  1  had  incurred  the  anger  of  the  Supe- 
rior in  a  greater  degree  than  usual,  and  it  was  or- 
dered that  I  should  be  taken  to  one  of  the  cells.  I 
was  taken  by  some  of  the  nuns,  bound  and  gagged, 
carried  down  the  stairs  into  the  cellar,  and  laid  upon 
the  floor.  Not  long  afterward  I  induced  one  of  the 
nuns  to  request  the  Superior  to  come  down  and  see 
me ;  and  on  making  some  acknowledgment  I  was 
released.  I  will,  however,  relate  this  story  rather 
more  in  detail. 

On  that  day  I  had  been  engaged  with  Jane  Ray, 
in  carrying  into  eflfect  a  plan  of  revenge  upon  an- 
other person,  when  I  fell  under  the  vindictive  spirit 
of  some  of  the  old  nuns,  and  suffered  severely. 
The  Superior  ordered  me  to  the  cells,  and  a  scene 
of  violence  commenced  which  I  will  not  attempt  to 
describe,  nor  the  precise  circumstances  which  led  to 
it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  after  exhausting  my 
strength,  by  resisting  as  long  as  I  could  against 
several  nuns,  I  had  my  hands  draw^n  behind  my 
back,  a  leathern  band  passed  first  round  my  thumbs, 
then  round  my  hands,  and  then  round  my  waist, 
and  fastened.  This  was  drawn  so  tight  that  it  cut 
through  the  flesh  of  my  thumbs,  making  wounds, 
the  scars  of  which  still  remain.  A  gag  was  then 
forced  into  my  mouth,  not  indeed  so  violently  as  it 
sometimes  was,  but  roughly  enough ;  atler  which  I 
was  taken  by  main  force,  and  carried  down  into  the 
cellar,  across  it  almost  to  the  opposite  extremity, 
and  brought  to  the  last  of  the  second  range  of  cells 
on  the  left  hand.     The  door  was  opened,  and  I  was 


.» t,' 


:..|i 


:)! 


Ji 


:h 


I- 


!S 


ii.;!i 


ft. 

t 


.t 


i' 


•<'] 

1 

■ 

'^ 

I' 

1 

1 

)V 


i 


I    I 


!  'Ilf''l 


"i 


tij! 


1:'  1 1 


168 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


thrown  m  with  violence,  and  left  alone,  the  door 
being  immediately  closed  and  bolted  on  the  outside. 
The  bare  ground  was  under  me,  cold  and  hard  as 
if  it  had  been  beaten  down  even.  I  lay  still,  in  the 
position  in  which  1  had  fallen,  as  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  me  to  move,  confined  as  I  was,  and  ex- 
hausted by  my  exertions ;  and  the  shock  of  my  fall, 
and  my  wretched  state  of  desperation  and  fear  disin- 
clined me  from  any  further  attempt.  I  was  in  al- 
most total  darkness,  there  being  nothing  perceptible 
except  a  slight  glimmer  of  light  which  came  in 
through  the  little  window  far  above  me. 

Kow  long  I  remained  in  that  condition  I  can  only 
conjecture.     It  seemed  to  me  a  long  time,  and  must 
have  been  two  or  three  hours.     I  did  not  move,  ex- 
pecting to  die  there,  and  in  a  state  of  distress  which 
I  cannot  describe,  from  the  tight  bandage  about  my 
hands,  and  the  gag  holding  my  jaws  apart  at  their 
greatest  extension.     I  am  confident  I  must  have  died 
before  morning,  if,  as  I  then  expected,  I  had  been 
left  there  all  night.     By-and-by,  however,  the  bolt 
was  drawn,  the  door  opened,  and  Jane  Ray  spoke 
to  me  in  a  tone  of  kindness.     She  had  taken  an  op- 
portunity to  slip  into  the  cellar  unnoticed  on  pur- 
pose to  see  me.     She  unbound  the  gag,  took  it  out 
of  my  mouth,  and  told  me  she  would  do  any  thing  to 
get  me  out  of  that  dungeon.     If  she  had  had  the 
bringing  of  me  down,  she  would  not  have  thrust  me 
so  brutally,  and  she  would  be  revenged  on  those  who 
had.     She  oflfered  to  throw  herself  upon  her  knees 
before  the  Superior  and  beg  her  forgiveness.     To 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


169 


this  I  would  not  consent;  but  told  her  to  ask  the 
Superior  to  come  to  me,  as  I  wished  to  speak  to  her. 
This  I  had  no  idea  she  would  condescend  to  do; 
but  Jane  had  not  been  gone  long  before  the  Superior 
came,  and  asked  if  I  repented  in  the  sight  of  God 
for  what  I  had  done.  I  replied  in  the  affirmative ; 
and  after  a  lecture  of  some  length  on  the  pain  I  had 
given  the  Virgin  Mary  by  my  conduct,  she  asked 
whether  I  was  willing  to  ask  pardon  of  all  the  nuns 
for  the  scandal  I  had  caused  them  by  my  behaviour. 
To  this  I  made  no  objection;  and  I  was  then  re- 
leased from  my  prison  and  my  bonds,  went  up  to 
the  community-room,  and  kneeling  before  all  the 
sisters  in  succession,  begged  the  forgiveness  and 
prayers  of  each. 

Among  the  marks  which  I  still  bear  of  the 
wounds  received  from  penances  and  violence,  are 
the  scars  left  by  the  belt  with  which  I  repeatedly 
tortured  myself,  for  the  mortification  of  my  spirit- 
These  are  most  distinct  on  my  side ;  for  although 
the  band,  which  was  four  or  five  inches  in  breadth, 
and  extended  round  the  waist,  was  stuck  full  of 
sharp  iron  points  in  all  parts,  it  was  sometimes 
crowded  most  against  my  side,  by  resting  in  my 
chair,  and  the  wounds  were  usually  deeper  there 
than  anywhere  else. 

My  thumbs  were  several  times  cut  severely  by 
the  tight  drawing  of  the  band  used  to  confine  my 
arms,  and  scars  are  still  visible  upon  them. 

The  rough  gagging  which  I  several  times  en- 
dured wounded  my  lips  very  much ;  for  it  was  com- 
15 


♦I  : 


,'!' 


Mi 


I    \ 


^  Nil 


!l 


^11 


ii{, 


m^ 


111  > 


1^ 


.;( 


.1 


■•. 


h^ 


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>  • 


I  , 


f     i 


»,  H 


I  ' 


i.  t  • 


■I.  'J 


ii'< 


•iH^IMj 


(  w 


»  :  r  < 


!    ^' 


'    ! 


rlt 


:H 


1 

1 

H 

'    , 

;     M 

; 

.-:  i 

i 

iMi 


170 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


mon,  in  that  operation,  to  thrust  the  gag  hard  against 
the  teeth,  and  catch  one  or  both  the  lips,  which  were 
sometimes  cruelly  cut.  The  object  was  to  stop  the 
screams  made  by  the  offender  as  soon  as  possible; 
and  some  of  the  old  nuns  delighted  in  tormenting 
us.  A  gag  was  once  forced  into  my  mouth  which 
had  a  large  splinter  upon  it,  and  this  cut  through 
my  under  lip,  in  front,  leaving  to  this  day  a  scar 
about  half  an  inch  long.  The  same  lip  was  sev- 
eral times  wounded,  as  well  as  the  other ;  but  one 
day  worse  than  ever,  when  a  narrow  piece  was  cut 
off"  from  the  left  side  of  it,  by  being  pinched  between 
the  gag  and  the  unde^  fore-teeth ;  and  this  has  left 
an  inequality  in  it  which  is  still  very  observable. 

One  of  the  most  shocking  stories  I  heard  of 
events  that  had  occurred  in  the  nunnery  before  my 
acquaintance  with  it,  was  the  following,  which  was 
told  me  by  Jane.  What  is  uncommon,  I  can  fix 
the  da*e  when  I  heard  it.  It  was  on  New- Year's 
day,  1834.  The  ceremonies,  customary  in  the  early 
part  of  that  day,  had  been  performed ;  after  mass, 
in  the  morning,  the  Superior  had  shaken  hands 
with  all  the  nuns,  and  given  u«  her  blessing,  for  she 
was  said  to  have  received  power  from  heaven  to  do 
so  only  once  a  year,  and  then  on  the  first  day  of  the 
year.  Besides  this,  cakes,  raisins,  &c.  are  dis- 
tributed to  the  nuns  on  that  day. 

While  in  the  community-room,  I  had  taken  a  seat 
just  within  the  cupboard-door,  where  I  often  found  a 
partial  shelter  from  observation  with  Jane,  when  a 
conversation  incidentally  began  between  us.     Our 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


17i 


practice  often  was,  to  take  places  there  beside  one 
of  the  old  nuns,  awaiting  the  time  when  she  would 
go  away  for  a  little  while,  and  leave  us  partially 
screened  from  the  observation  of  others.  On  that 
occasion,  Jane  and  I  were  left  for  a  time  alone ; 
when,  after  some  discourse  on  suicide,  she  remark- 
ed, that  three  nuns  once  killed  themselves  in  the 
Convent.  This  happened,  she  said,  not  long  after 
her  reception,  and  I  knew,  therefore,  that  it  was 
several  years  before,  for  she  had  been  received  a 
considerable  time  before  I  had  become  a  novice, 
Three  young  ladies,  she  informed  me,  took  the  veil 
together,  or  very  near  the  same  time,  I  am  not  cer- 
tain which.  I  know  they  have  four  robes  in  the 
Convent,  to  be  worn  during  the  ceremony  of  taking 
the  veil ;  but  I  never  have  seen  more  than  one  of 
them  used  at  a  time. 

Two  of  the  new  nuns  were  sisters,  and  the  other 
their  cousin.  They  had  been  received  but  a  few 
days,  when  information  was  given  one  morning 
that  they  had  been  found  dead  in  their  beds,  amid 
Q  profusion  of  blood.  Jane  Ray  said,  she  saw  their 
corpses,  and  that  they  appeared  to  have  killed  them- 
selves, by  opening  veins  in  their  arms  with  a  knife 
they  had  obtained,  and  all  had  bled  to  death  to- 
g^ether.  What  was  extraordinary,  Jane  Ray  added, 
that  she  had  heard  no  noise,  and  that  she  believed 
nobody  had  suspected  that  any  thing  was  wrong 
during  the  night.  Saint  Hypolite,  however,  had 
tfaled,  that  she  found  them  in  the  morning,  after  the 


^l 


n  1 


'\ 


im 


t  .  ,• 


?   :  i 


,\\ 


hii. 


■  i 


t 


ii;N^i 


mh 


172 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


Other  nuns  had  gone  to  prayers,  lying  lifeless  in 
their  beds. 

For  some  reason  or  other,  their  death  was  not 
made  public ;  but  their  bodies,  instead  of  being  ex- 
hibited in  full  dress  in  the  chapel,  and  afterward 
interred  with  solemnity  beneath  it,  were  taken  un- 
ceremoniously into  the  cellar,  and  thrown  into  the 
hole  I  have  so  often  mentioned. 

There  were  a  few  instances,  and  only  a  few,  in 
which  we  knew  any  thing  that  was  happening  in 
the  world ;  and  even  then  our  knowledge  did  not 
extend  out  of  the  city.     I  can  recall  but  three  oc- 
casions of  this  kind.     Two  of  them  were  when 
the  cholera  prevailed  in  Montreal ;  and  the  other 
was  the   election   riots.     The   appearance  of  the 
cholera,  in  both  seasons  of  its  ravages,   gave   us 
abundance  of  occupation.     Indeed,  we  were  more 
borne  down  by  hard  labour  at  those  times,  than  ever 
before   or  ailerward  during  my  stay.     The  Pope 
had  given  early  notice  that  the  burning  of  wax 
candles  would  afford  protection  from  the  disease, 
because  so  long  as  any  person  continued  to  burn 
one,  the  Virgin   Mary  would  intercede   for   him. 
No   sooner,  therefore,   had  the   alarming  disease 
made  its  appearance  in  Montreal,  than  a  long  wax 
candle  was  lightod   in  the  Convent  for   each  of 
the  inmates,  so  that  all  parts  of  it  in  use  were  arti- 
ficially illuminattd  day  and  night.     Thus  a  great 
many  candles  were  constantly  burning,  which  were 
to  be  replaced  from  those  manufactured  by  the  nuns. 
But  this  was  a  trifle.     The  Pope's  message  having 


':  f       I   I* 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


173 


been  promulgated  in  the  Grey  Nunnery,  the  Con- 
gregational Nunnery,  and  to  Catholics  at  large, 
through  the  pulpits,  an  extraordinary  demand  was 
created  for  wax  candles,  to  supply  which  we  were 
principally  depended  upon.  All  who  could  be  em- 
ployed in  making  them  were  therefore  set  at  work, 
and  I,  among  the  rest,  assisted  in  different  depart- 
ments, and  witnessed  all. 

Numbers  of  the  nuns  had  been  long  familiar  with 
the  business ;  for  a  very  considerable  amount  of  wax 
had  been  annually  manufactured  in  the  Convent; 
but  now  the  works  were  much  extended,  and  other 
occupations  in  a  great  degree  laid  aside.  Large 
quantities  of  wax  were  received  in  the  building, 
which  was  said  to  have  been  imported  from  Eng- 
land ;  kettles  were  placed  in  some  of  the  working- 
rooms,  in  which  it  was  clarified  by  heat  over  coal 
fires,  and  when  prepared,  the  process  of  dipping 
commenced.  The  wicks,  which  were  quite  long, 
were  placed  hanging  upon  a  reel,  taken  up  and 
dipped  in  succession,  until,  after  many  slow  revolu- 
tions of  the  reel,  the  candles  were  of  the  proper  size. 
They  were  then  taken  to  a  part  of  the  room  where 
tables  were  prepared  for  rolling  them  smooth.  This 
is  done  by  passing  a  roller  over  them,  until  they  be- 
came even  and  polished^  after  which  they  are  laid  by 
for  sale.  These  processes  caused  a  constant  bustle 
in  several  of  the  rooms;  and  the  melancholy  reports 
from  without,  of  the  ravages  of  the  cholera,  with  tho 
uncertainty  of  what  might  be  the  result  with  us,  not- 
withstanding the  promised  intercession  of  the  Virgin, 
15* 


i 


1  . 
i 


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if"  (' 
i    I 


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(' 

Y  ' 

» ! 

ii 

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1 

III 

1 

I     i 


I  , 


{   ,■ 


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M 


<       •( 


lilll'.''        * 


174 


BLACK   NVNNBRY. 


and  the  brilliant  lights  constantly  burning  in  such 
numbers  around  us,  impressed  the  scenes  I  used  to 
witness  very  deeply  on  my  mind.  I  had  very  little 
doubt  myself,  of  the  strict  truth  of  the  story  we  had 
heard  of  the  security  conferred  upon  those  who 
burnt  candles,  and  yet  I  sometimes  had  serious  fears 
arise  in  my  mind.  These  thoughts,  however,  I  did 
my  utmost  to  regard  as  great  sins,  and  evidences  of 
my  own  want  of  faith. 

It  was  during  that  period  that  I  formed  a  partial 
acquaintance  with  sever?  1  Grey  nuns,  who  used  to 
come  frequently  for  supplies  of  candles  for  their 
Convent.  I  had  no  opportunity  to  converse  with 
them,  except  so  far  as  the  purchase  and  sale  of  the 
articles  they  required.  I  became  familiar  with  their 
countenances  and  appearances,  but  was  unable  to 
judge  of  their  characters  or  feelings.  Concerning 
the  rules  and  habits  prevailing  in  the  Groy  Nun- 
nery, I  therefore  remained  as  ignorant  as  if  I  had 
been  a  thousand  miles  off;  and  they  had  no  better 
opportunity  to  learn  any  thing  of  us  beyond  what 
they  could  see  around  them  in  the  room  where  the 
candles  were  sold. 

We  supplied  the  Congregational  Nunnery  also 
with  wax  candles,  as  I  before  remarked ;  and  in 
both  those  institutions,  it  was  understood  a  constant 
illumination  was  kept  up.  Citizens  were  also  fre- 
quently running  in  to  buy  candles,  in  great  and 
small  quantities,  so  that  the  business  of  storekeeping 
was  far  more  laborious  than  common. 

We  were  confirmed  in  our  faith  in  the  intercession 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


175 


of  the  Virgin,  when  we  found  that  we  remained  safe 
from  the  cholera ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
not  one  case  of  that  disease  existed  in  the  nunnery, 
during  either  of  the  seasons  in  which  it  proved  so 
fotal  in  the  city. 

When  the  election  riots  prevailed  in  Montreal, 
the  city  was  thrown  into  general  alarm ;  we  heard 
some  reports,  from  day  to  day,  ".hich  made  us 
anxious  for  ourselves.  Nothing,  however,  gave  me 
any  serious  thoughts  until  I  saw  uncommon  move- 
ments in  some  parts  of  the  nunnery,  and  ascertained, 
to  my  own  satisfaction,  that  there  was  a  large  quan- 
tity of  gunpowder  stored  in  some  secret  place  within 
the  walls,  and  that  some  of  it  was  removed,  or  pre- 
pared for  use,  under  the  direction  of  the  Superior. 

I  have  mentioned  several  penances,  in  different 
parts  of  this  narrative,  which  we  sometimes  had  to 
perform.  There  is  a  great  variety  of  them ;  and, 
while  some,  though  trifling  in  appearance,  became 
very  painful,  by  long  endurance,  or  frequent  re- 
petition; others  are  severe  in  their  nature,  and 
would  never  be  submitted  to  unless  through  fear  of 
something  worse,  or  a  real  belief  in  their  efficacy  to 
remove  guilt.  I  will  mention  here  such  as  I  recol- 
lect, which  can  be  named  without  offending  a  vir- 
tuous ear ;  for  some  there  were,  which,  although  I 
have  been  compelled  to  submit  to,  either  by  a  mis- 
led conscience,  or  the  fear  of  severe  punishments, 
now  that  I  am  better  able  to  judge  of  my  duties,  and 
at  liberty  to  act,  I  would  not  mention  or  describe. 

Kissing  the  floor,  is  a  very  common  penance; 


i 

if 

ii  ; 

1 

i 

1   . 


>l    I 


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jilt 


• 


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iWU 


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!   il 
I, 


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<    I 


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i! 


176 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


kneeling  and  kissing  the  feet  of  the  other  nuns,  is 
another ;  as  are  kneeling  on  hard  peas,  and  walk- 
ing with  them  in  the  shoes.     We  had  repeatedly  to 
walk  on  our  knees  through  the  subterranean  pas- 
sage, leading  to  the  Congregational  Nunnery ;  and 
sometimes  to  eat  our  meals  with  a  rope  round  our 
necks.     Sometimes  we  were  fed  only  with  such 
things  as  we  most  disliked.      Garlic  was  given  to 
me  on  this  account,  because  I  had  a  strong  antipa- 
thy against  it.     Eels  were  repeatedly  given  to  some 
of  us,  because  we  felt  an  unconquerable  repugnance 
to  them,  on  account  of  reports  we  had  heard  of  their 
feedir<:(-  \  a  dead  carcasses,  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence. 
It  v/as   ij  incommon  thing  for  us  to  be  required  to 
drink  tic  water  in  which  the  Superior  had  washed 
]ie«'  fc'  •.      Sometimes  we  were  required  to  brand 
oarsf Ivef  ivith  a  hot  iron,  so  as  to  leave  scars ;  at 
other  times  to  whip  our  naked  flesh  with  several 
small  rods,  before  a  private  altar,  until  we  drew 
blood.     I  can  assert,  with  the  ^3rfect  knowledge  of 
the  fact,  that  many  of  the  nuns  bear  the  scars  of 
these  wounds. 

One  of  our  penances  was  to  stand  for  a  length  of 
time,  with  our  arms  extended,  in  imitation  of  the 
Saviour  on  the  cross.  The  Chemin  de  la  Croix,  or 
Road  to  the  Cross,  is,  in  fact,  a  penance,  though  it 
consists  of  a  variety  of  pro  strati  .)ns,  with  the  repe- 
tition of  many  prayers,  oc  upying  two  or  three 
hours.  This  we  had  to  peribrm  frequently,  going 
into  the  chapel,  and  falling  before  each  chapelle  in 
succession,  at  each  time  commemorating  some  par- 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


177 


licular  act  or  circumstance  reported  of  the  Saviour's 
progress  to  the  place  of  his  crucifixion.  Sometimes 
we  were  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  floor  in  the  winter, 
with  nothing  over  us  but  a  single  sheet ;  and  some- 
times to  chew  a  piece  of  window-glass  to  a  fine 
powder,  in  the  presence  of  the  Superior. 

We  had  sometimes  to  wear  leathern  belts  stuck 
full  of  sharp  metallic  points  round  our  waists,  and 
the  upper  part  of  our  arms,  bound  on  so  tight  that 
they  penetrated  the  flesh,  and  drew  blood. 

Some  of  the  penances  were  so  severe,  that  they 
seemed  too  much  to  be  endured;  and  when  they 
were  imposed,  the  nuns  who  were  to  suffer  them, 
sometimes  showed  the  most  violent  repugnance. 
They  would  oflcn  resist,  and  still  oftener  express 
their  opposition  by  exclamations  and  screams. 

Never,  however,  was  any  noise  heard  from  them, 
for  a  long  time,  for  there  was  a  remedy  always 
ready  to  be  applied  in  cases  of  the  kind.  The  gag 
which  was  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  unfortunate 
Saint  Francis,  had  been  brought  from  a  place  where 
there  were  forty  or  fifty  others,  of  different  shapes 
and  sizes.  These  I  have  seen  in  their  depository, 
which  id  a  drawer  between  two  closets,  in  one  of 
the  community-rooms.  Whenever  any  loud  noise 
was  made,  one  of  these  instruments  was  demanded, 
and  gaggir  g  commenced  at  once.  I  have  known 
many,  many  instances,  and  sometimes  five  or  six 
nuns  gagged  at  once.  Sometimes  they  would  bo- 
come  so  much  excited  before  they  could  be  bound 
find  gagged,  that  considerable  force  was  necessary 


W 


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178 


BLACK   NUNNERT. 


to  be  exerted ;  and  I  have  seen  the  blood  flowing 
from  mouths  into  which  the  gag  had  been  thrust 
with  violence. 

Indeed  I  ought  to  know  something  on  this  de- 
partment of  nunnery  discipline :  I  have  had  it  tried 
upon  myself,  and  I  can  bear  witness  that  it  is  not 
only  most  humiliating  and  oppressive,  but  often  ex- 
tremely painful.  The  mouth  is  kept  forced  open, 
and  the  straining  of  the  jaws  at  their  utmost  stretch, 
for  a  considerable  time,  is  very  distressing. 

One  of  the  worst  punishments  which  I  ever  saw 
inflicted,  was  that  with  a  cap ;  and  yet  some  of  the 
old  nuns  were  permitted  to  inflict  it  at  their  pleas- 
ure.    I  have  repeatedly  known  them  to  go  for  a 
cap,  when  one  of  our  number  had  transgressed  a 
rule,  sometimes  though  it  were  a  very  unimportant 
one.     These  caps  were  kept  in  a  cupboard  in  the  old 
nuns'  room,  whence  they  were  brought  when  wanted. 
They   were  small,  made  of  a  reddish  looking 
leather,  fitted  closely  to  the  head,  and  fastened  under 
the  chin  with  a  kind  of  buckle.     It  was  the  com- 
mon  practice  to  tie  the  nun's  hands  behind  and  gag 
her  before  the  cap  was  put  on,  to  prevent  noise  and 
resistance.     I  never  saw  it  worn  by  any  for  one 
moment,  without  throwing  them  in  sev  re  sufl!erings. 
If  permitted,  they  would  scream  in  the  most  shock- 
ing manner ;  and  they  always  writhed  as  much  as 
their  confinement  would  allow.  I  can  speak  from  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  this  punishment,  as  I  have  en- 
dured it  more  than  once  ;  and  yet  I  have  no  idea  of 
the  cause  of  the  pain.     I  never  examined  one  of  the 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


179 


caps,  nor  saw  the  inside,  for  they  are  always  brought 
and  taken  away  quickly ;  but  although  the  first  sen- 
sation was  that  of  coolness,  it  was  hardly  put  on  my 
head  before  a  violent  and  indescribable  sensation 
began,  like  that  of  a  blister,  only  much  more  insup- 
portable ;  and  this  continued  until  it  was  removed. 
It  would  produce  such  an  acute  pain  as  to  throw  us 
into  convulsions,  and  I  think  no  human  being  could 
endure  it  for  an  hour.  After  this  punishment,  wo 
felt  its  effects  through  the  system  for  many  days. 
Having  once  known  what  it  was  by  experience,  I 
held  the  cap  in  dread,  and  whenever  I  was  con- 
demned to  suffer  the  punishment  again,  felt  ready  to 
do  any  thing  to  avoid  it.  But  when  tied  and  gag- 
ged, with  the  cap  on  my  head  again,  I  could  only 
sink  upon  the  floor,  and  roll  about  in  angaish  until 
it  was  taken  off 

This  was  usually  done  in  about  ten  minutes, 
sometimes  less,  but  the  pain  always  continued  in  my 
head  for  several  days.  I  thought  that  it  might  take 
away  a  person's  reason  if  kept  on  a  much  longer 
time.  If  I  had  not  been  gagged,  I  am  sure  I  should 
have  uttered  awful  screams.  I  have  felt  the  effects 
for  a  week.  Sometimes  fresh  cabbage  leaves  were 
applied  to  my  head  to  remove  it.  Having  had  no 
opportunity  to  examine  my  head,  I  cannot  say  more. 

This  punishment  was  occasionally  resorted  to 
for  very  trifling  offences,  such  as  washing  the  hands 
without  permission ;  and  it  was  generally  applied 
on  the  spot,  and  before  the  other  nuns  in  the  con^« 
munity-room. 


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CHAPTER  XIX. 

Tlie  Priests  of  the  District  of  Montreal  hate  free  access  to  th-s 
Black  Nunnery — Crimes  committed  and  required  by  than 
The  Papers  Command  to  commit  indecent  Crimes — Chu;  ■ 
acters  of  the  Old  and  New  Superiors— The  timidity  of  thi 
latter— I  began  to  be  employed  in  the  IlospitaU—Somc  account 
of  Ifiem— Warning  given  mc  by  a  nick  Nun— Penance  by 
Hanging. 

I  II AYE  mentioned  before,  that  the  country,  as  far 
down  as  Three  Rivers,  is  furnished  with  priests  by 
the  Seminary  of  Montreal ;  and  that  these  hundred 
and  fifty  men  are  liable  to  be  occasionally  transfer- 
red from  one  station  to  another.  Numbers  of  them 
are  often  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  Montreal,  as 
they  may  find  a  home  in  the  Seminary. 

They  are  considered  as  having  an  equal  right  to 
enter  the  Black  Nunnery  whenever  they  please, 
and  then,  according  to  our  oaths,  they  have  com- 
plete control  over  the  nuns.  To  nam^  all  the  works 
of  shame  of  which  they  are  guilty  in  that  retreat, 
would  require  much  time  and  space,  neither  would 
it  be  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of  my  object, 
which  is,  the  publication  of  but  some  of  theii 
criminality  to  the  world,  and  the  development,  in 
general  terms,  of  scenes  thus  far  carried  on  in  se- 
cret within  the  walls  of  that  Convent,  where  I  was 
so  long  an  inmate. 

Secure  against  detection  by  the  world,  they  never 
believed  that  an  eyewitness  would  ever  escape  to 


BLACK    NUNNER7. 


181 


toll  of  their  crimes,  and  declare  some  of  their  names 
betorc  the  world ;  but  the  time  has  come,  and  somo 
of  their  deeds  of  darkness  must  come  to  the  day. 
I  have  seen  in  the  nunnery,  the  priests  from  more* 
I  presume,  than  a  hundred  country  places,  admitted 
forshameful  nndcriminal  purposes:  from  St.  Charles, 
St.  Denis,  St.  Mark's,  St.  Antoine,  Chambly,  Bertier, 
St.  John's.  &L.  &c. 

How  unexpected  ♦o  them  will  be  the  disclosures 
I  make !  Shut  up  in  a  place  from  which  there  has 
been  thought  to  be  but  one  way  of  egress,  and  that 
the  passage  to  the  grave,  they  considered'  nemselves 
safe  in  perpetrating  crimes  in  our  presence,  and  in 
making  us  share  in  their  criminality  as  often  as  they 
those,  and  conducted  more  shamelessly  than  even 
the  brutes.  These  debauchees  would  come  in  with- 
out ceremony,  c  )ncealing  their  names,  both  by 
night  and  by  day,  where  the  cries  and  pains  of 
the  injured  innocence  of  their  victims  could  never 
reach  the  w^orld,  for  reliefer  redress  for  their  wrongs; 
without  remorse  or  shame,  they  would  glory  in  tor- 
turing, in  the  most  barbarous  manner,  the  feelings 
of  those  under  their  power;  telling  us,  at  the  same 
time,  that  this  mortifying  the  flesh  was  religion,  and 
pleasing  to  God. 

We  were  sometimes  invited  to  put  ourselves  ta 
voluntary  sufferings  in  a  variety  of  ways,  not  for  a 
penance,  but  to  show  our  devotion  to  God.  A  priest 
would  sometimes  sav  to  us — 

"  Now,  which  of  you  h-'ve  love  enough  for  Jespv 
Christ  to  stick  a  pin  through  your  cheeks?" 
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Some  of  us  would  signify  our  readiness,  and  im- 
mediately thrust  one  through  up  to  the  head.  Some* 
times  he  would  propose  that  we  sh;>uld  repeat  the 
operation  several  times  on  the  spot ;  and  the  cheeks 
of  a  number  of  nuns  would  be  bloody. 

There  were  other  acts  occasionally  proposed  and 
consented  to,  which  I  cannot  name  in  a  book.  Such 
the  Superior  would  sometimes  command  us  to  per- 
form ;  many  of  them  things  not  only  useless  and 
unheard  of,  but  loathsome  and  indecent  in  the  high- 
est possible  degree.  How  they  could  ever  have 
been  invented  I  never  could  conceive.  Things 
were  done  worse  than  the  entire  exposure  of  the 
person,  though  this  was  occasionally  required  of 
several  at  once,  in  the  presence  of  priests. 

The  Superior  of  the  Seminary  would  sometimes 
come  and  inform  us,  that  he  had  received  orders 
from  the  Pope,  to  request  that  those  nuns  who  pos- 
sessed the  greatest  devotion  and  faith,  should  be  re- 
quested to  perform  some  particular  deeds,  which  he 
named  or  described  in  our  presence,  but  of  which 
no  decent  or  moral  person  could  ever  endure  to 
speak.  I  cannot  repeat  what  would  injure  any  ear, 
not  debased  to  the  lowest  possible  degree.  I  am 
bound  by  a  regard  to  truth,  however,  to  confess, 
that  deluded  women  were  found  among  us,  who 
would  comply  with  those  requests. 

There  was  a  great  difference  between  the  char- 
acters of  our  old  and  new  Superior,  which  soon  be- 
came obvious.  The  former  used  to  say  she  liked 
to  walk,  because  it  would  prevent  her  from  becom- 


BLACK   NUNNERT. 


183 


t  i 


Ing  corpulent.  She  was,  therefore,  very  active,  and 
constantly  going  about  from  one  part  of  the  nun* 
nery  to  another,  overseeing  us  at  our  various  em» 
ployments.  I  never  saw  in  her  any  appearance  of 
timidity :  she  seemed,  on  the  contrary,  bold  and 
masculine,  and  sometimes  much  more  than  that, 
cruel  and  cold-blooded,  in  scenes  calculated  to  over- 
come any  common  person.  Such  a  character  she 
had  particularly  exhibited  at  the  murder  of  Saint 
Francis. 

The  m  w  Superior,  on  the  other  hand,  was  so 
heavy  and  lame,  that  she  walked  With  much  diffi- 
culty, and  consequently  exercised  a  less  vigilant 
oversight  of  the  nuns.     She  was  also  of  a  timid 
disposition,  or  else  had  been  overcome  by  some 
great  fright  in  her  past  life;  for  she  was  apt  to 
become  alarmed  in  the  night,  and  never  liked  to  be 
alone  in  the  dark.     She  had  long  performed  the 
part  of  an  old  nun,  which  is  that  of  a  spy  upon  the 
younger  ones,  and  was  well  known  to  us  in  that 
character,  under  the  name  of  Ste.  Margarite.    Soo« 
after  her  promotion  to  the  station  «f  Superior,  she 
appointed  me  to  sleep  in  her  apartment,  and  assign- 
ed me  a  sofa  to  lie  upon.     One  night,  while  I  was 
asleep,  she  suddenly  threw  herself  upon  me,  and 
exclaimed  in  great  alarm,  "  Oh !  mon  Dieu  I  mon 
Dieu !  Qu'est  que  qa  ?"     Oh,  my  God !  my  God  I 
What  IS  that  ?     I  jumped  up  and  looked  about  the 
room,  but  saw  nothing,  and  endeavoured  to  convince 
her  that  there  was  nothing  extraordinary  there. 
But  she  insisted  that  a  ghost  had  come  and  held 


in 


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1B4 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


her  bed-curtain,  so  that  she  could  not  draw^  it.  I 
examined  it,  and  found  that  the  curtain  had  been 
caught  by  a  pin  in  the  valance,  which  had  held  it 
back ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  tranquillize  her  for 
some  time.  She  insisted  on  my  sleeping  with  her 
the  rest  of  the  night,  and  I  stretched  myself  across 
the  foot  of  her  bed,  and  slept  tliere  till  morning. 

During  the  last  part  of  my  stay  in  the  Convent, 
I  was  often  employed  in  attending  in  the  hospitals. 
There  are,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  several 
apartments  devoted  to  the  sick,  and  there  s  a  phy- 
sician of  Montreal,  who  attends  as  physician  to  the 
Convent.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
he  knows  any  thing  concerning  the  private  hospi- 
tals. It  is  a  fact  of  great  importance  to  be  dis- 
tinctly understood,  and  constantly  borne  in  mind, 
that  he  is  never,  under  any  circumstances,  admitted 
into  the  private  hospital-rooms.  Of  those  he  sees 
nothing  more  than  any  stranger  whatever.  He  is 
limited  to  the  care  of  those  patients  who  are  admit- 
ted from  the  city  into  the  public  hospital,  and  one 
of  the  nuns'  hospitals,  and  these  he  visits  every  day. 
Sick  poor  are  received  for  charity  by  the  institu- 
tion, attended  by  some  of  the  nuns,  and  oflen  go 
away  with  the  highest  ideas  of  their  charitable 
characters  and  holy  lives.  The  physician  himself 
might  perhaps  in  some  cases  share  in  the  delu- 
sion. 

I  frequently  followed  Dr.  Nelson  through  the 
public  hospital,  at  the  direction  of  the  Superior* 
with  pen,  ink,  and  paper  in  my  hands,  and  wrote 


BLACK   NUNNERY, 


185 


lown  the  prescriptions  which  he  ordered  for  the 
difierent  patients.  These  were  afterward  prepared 
and  administered  by  the  attendants.  About  a  year 
before  I  left  the  Convent,  I  was  first  appointed  to 
attend  the  private  sick-rooms,  and  was  frequently 
employed  in  that  duty  up  to  the  day  of  my  depart- 
ure. Of  course,  I  had  opportunities  to  observe  the 
number  and  classes  of  patients  treated  there ;  and 
in  what  I  am  to  say  on  the  subject,  I  appeal  with 
perfect  confidence  to  any  true  and  competent  wit- 
ness to  confirm  my  words,  whenever  such  a  witness 
may  appear. 

It  would  be  vain  for  anybody  who  has  merely 
visited  the  Convent  from  curiosity,  or  resided  in 
it  as  a  novice,  to  question  my  declarations.  Such  a 
person  must  necessarily  be  ignorant  of  even  the  ex- 
istence of  the  private  rooms,  unless  informed  by 
some  one  else.  Such  rooms,  however,  there  are. 
ard  I  could  relate  many  things  which  have  passed 
there  during  the  hours  I  was  employed  in  them,  as 
I  have  stated. 

One  night  I  was  called  to  sit  up  with  an  old  nun, 
named  Saint  Clare,  who,  in  going  down-stairs,  had 
dislocated  a  limb,  and  lay  in  a  sick-room  adjoining 
an  hospital.  She  seemed  to  be  a  little  out  of  her 
nead  a  part  of  the  time,  but  appeared  to  be  quite  in 
possession  of  her  reason  most  of  the  night  It 
was  easy  to  pretend  that  she  was  delirious ;  but  I 
considered  her  as  speaking  the  truth,  though  I  felt 
reluctant  to  repeat  what  I  heard  her  say,  and  ex- 
•used  myself  from  mentioning  it  even  at  confbesiMii 


,y- 


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If. 


; 


'; 


186 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


on  the  ground  that  the  Superior  thought  her  de- 
ranged. 

What  led  her  to  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
parts  of  her  conversation,  was  a  motion  I  made,  in 
the  course  of  the  night,  to  take  the  light  out  of  her 
little  room  into  the  adjoining  apartment,  to  look  once 
more  at  the  sick  persons  there.  She  begged  me  not 
to  leave  her  a  moment  in  the  dark,  for  she  could 
not  bear  it.  *•  I  have  witnessed  so  many  horrid 
scenes,"  said  she,  "  in  this  Convent,  that  I  want 
somebody  near  me  constantly,  and  must  always 
have  a  light  burning  in  my  room.  I  cannot  tell 
you,"  she  added,  "  what  things  I  remember,  for 
they  would  frighten  you  too  much.  What  you 
have  seen  are  nothing  to  them.  Many  a  murder 
have  I  witnessed ;  many  a  nice  young  creature  has 
been  killed  in  this  nunnery.  I  advise  you  to  be 
very  cautious — keep  every  thing  to  yourself— there 
are  many  here  ready  to  betray  you." 

What  it  was  that  induced  the  old  nun  to  express 
so  much  kindness  to  me  I  could  not  tell,  unless  she 
was  frightened  at  the  recollection  of  her  own  crimes, 
and  those  of  others,  and  felt  grateful  for  the  care  I 
took  of  her.  She  had  been  one  of  the  night- 
watches,  and  never  before  showed  me  any  particu- 
lar kindness.  She  did  not  indeed  go  into  detail  con- 
cerning the  transactions  to  which  she  alluded,  but 
told  me  that  some  nuns  had  been  murdered  under 
great  aggravations  of  cruelty,  by  being  gagged,  and 
left  to  starve  in  the  cells,  or  having  their  flesh  burnt 
off  their  bones  with  red-hot  irons. 


'  J 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


187 


It  was  uncommon  to  find  compunction  expressed 
by  any  of  the  nuns.  Habit  renders  us  insensible 
to  the  sufferings  of  others,  and  careless  about  our 
own  sins.  I  had  become  so  hardened  myself,  that 
I  find  it  difficult  to  rid  myself  of  many  of  my  former 
false  principles  and  views  of  right  and  wrong. 

I  was  one  day  set  to  wash  some  of  the  empty  bot- 
tles from  the  cellar,  which  had  contained  the  liquid 
that  was  poured  into  the  cemetery  there.    A  num- 
ber of  these  had  been  brought  from  the  corner 
where  so  many  of  them  were  always  to  be  seen, 
and  placed  at  the  head  of  the  cellar  stairs,  and  there 
we  were  required  to  take  them  and  wash  them  out. 
We  '"'"  ■     '  in  water  and  rinsed  them:  a  few  drops, 
which  got  upon  our  clothes,  soon  made  holes  in 
them.     I  think  the  liquid  was  called  vitriol,  or  some 
such  name ;  and  I  heard  some  persons  say,  that  it 
would  soon  destroy  the  flesh,  and  even  the  bones  of 
the  dead.     At  another  time,  we  were  furnished  with 
a  little  of  the  liquid,  which  was  mixed  with  a  quan- 
tity of  water,  and  used  in  dying  some  cloth  black, 
which  was  wanted  at  funerals  in  the  chapels.     Our 
hands  were  turned  very  black  by  being  dipped  in  it, 
but  a  few  drops  of  some  other  liquid  were  mixed 
with  fresh  water  and  given  us  to  wash  in,  which 
left  our  skin  of  a  bright  red.  * 

The  bottles  of  which  I  spoke  were  made  of  very 

thick,  dark-coloured  glass,  large  at  the  bottom,  and, 

from  recollection,  I  should  say  held  something  less 

than  a  gallon. 

I  was  once  much  shocked,  on  entering  the  room 


"   ifM 


i  ■■■  • 


m 


ir  Mil 


I  % 


ij^  ■> 


nm 


1 


W 


'Hi!.' 

'it) 


V  !     ...I 


1 :  ^*,  i 


HI 


■   <  •  ,■ 


i  ■  I 


f'N-ijil 


1^:  I 


mm 


m 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


for  the  examination  of  conscience,  at  seeing  a  nim 
hanging  by  a  cord  from  a  ring  in  the  ceiling,  with 
her  head  downward.  Her  clothes  had  been  tied 
round  with  a  leathern  strap,  to  keep  them  in  their 
place,  and  then  she  had  been  fastened  in  that  situa- 
tion, with  her  head  some  distance  from  the  floor. 
Her  face  had  a  very  unpleasant  appearance,  being 
dark-coloured  and  swollen  by  the  rushing  in  of  the 
blood ;  her  hands  were  tied,  and  her  mouth  stopped 
with  a  large  gag.  This  nun  proved  to  be  no  other 
than  Jane  Ray,  who  for  some  fault  had  been  con- 
demned to  this  punishment. 

This  was  not,  however,  a  solitary  case ;  I  heard 
of  numbers  who  were  *'  hung/'  as  it  was  called,  at 
different  times ;  and  I  saw  Saint  Hypolite  and  Saint 
Luke  undergoing  it.  This  was  considered  a  most 
distressing  punishment;  and  it  was  the  only  one 
which  Jane  Ray  could  not  endure,  of  all  she  had 
tried. 

Some  of  the  nuns  would  allude  to  it  in  her  pres. 
ence,  but  it  usually  made  her  angry.  It  was  prob- 
ably practised  in  the  same  place  while  I  was  a  nor* 
ice;  but  I  never  heard  or  thought  of  such  a  thing 
in  those  days.  Whenever  we  wished  to  enter  the 
room  for  the  examination  of  conscience,  we  had  to 
ask  leave ;  and  afler  some  delay  were  permitted  to 
go,  but  always  under  a  strict  charge  to  bend  th« 
hfcad  forward,  and  keep  the  eyes  fixed  upon  the  floov. 


\\> 


ti-   « 


CHAPTER  XX. 

More  visits  to  the  imprisoned  Nuns —  TTieir  fear  smothers  tern* 
porarily  put  into  the  Cells— Reliques^ The  Agnus  Dei^^7^e 
Priests*  private  Hospital^  or  Holy  Retreat — Secret  Rooms  in 
the  Eastern  Wing— Reports  of  Murders  in  the  Convent-^ 
The  Super ior*s  private  Records— Number  of  Nuns  in  tha 
Convent— Desire  of  Escape — Urgent  reason  for  it—Plan-^ 
Deliberation— Attempt— Success, 

I  OFTEN  seized  an  opportunity,  when  I  safely 
could,  to  speak  a  cheering  or  friendly  word  to  ono 
of  the  poor  prisoners,  in  passing  their  cells,  on  my 
errands  in  the  cellars.  For  a  time  I  supposed  them 
to  be  sisters ;  but  I  afterward  discovered  that  this 
%vas  not  the  case.  I  found  that  they  were  always 
under  the  fear  of  suffering  some  punishment,  in 
case  they  should  be  found  talking  with  a  person  not 
commissioned  to  attend  them.  They  would  often 
ask,  •'  Is  not  somebody  coming  ?'* 

I  could  easily  believe  what  I  heard  affirmed  by 
others,  that  fear  was  the  severest  of  their  sufferings. 
Confined  in  the  dark,  in  so  gloomy  a  place,  with  the 
long  and  spacious  arched  cellar  stretching  off  this 
way  and  that,  visited  only  now  and  then  by  a  soli- 
tary nun,  with  whom  they  were  afraid  to  speak 
their  feelings,  and  with  only  the  miserable  society 
of  each  other ;  how  gloomy  thus  to  spend  day  after 
day,  months,  and  even  years,  without  any  prospect 
of  liberation,  and  liable  every  moment  to  any  other 
fate  to  which  the  Bishop  or  Superior  might  con* 


'\ 


J' 


;v 


IM'i 


'i  I     ( 


?  i'?r 


r'lti'i 'i 


t  I 


'I  lli^'l?:* 


irhii'; 


;    Mi.^ 


^  ! 


'^ 


■    II' 


i, 


-I  !f 


:■■! 


"  t 


:  M  ' ' 


(,i,l', 


1      < 


''I   11' 


1  '    I'-  ■ 


190 


BLACK  NVNNBRY. 


demn  them  1  But  these  poor  creatures  must  hare 
known  something  of  the  horrors  perpetrated  in 
other  parts  of  the  building,  and  could  not  have  been 
ignorant  of  the  hole  in  the  cellar,  which  was  not 
far  from  their  cells,  and  the  use  to  which  it  was  do- 
voted.  One  of  them  told  me,  in  confidence,  she 
wished  they  could  get  out.  They  must  also  have 
been  often  disturbed  in  their  sleep,  if  they  ever  did 
sleep,  by  the  numerous  priests  who  passed  through 
the  trapdoor  at  no  great  distance.  To  be  subject  to 
such  trials  for  a  single  day  would  be  dreadful ;  but 
these  nuns  had  them  to  endure  for  years. 

I  often  felt  much  compassion  for  them,  and  wish* 
ed  to  see  them  released ;  but  at  other  times,  yield* 
ing  to  the  doctrine  perpetually  taught  us  in  the 
Convent,  that  our  future  happiness  would  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  sufferings  we  had  to  undergo  in 
this  world,  I  would  rest  satisfied  that  their  impris- 
onment was  a  real  blessing  to  them.  Others,  I  pre* 
sume,  participated  with  me  in  such  feelings.  One 
Sunday  afternoon,  after  we  had  performed  all  our 
ceremonies,  and  were  engaged  as  usual,  at  that 
time,  with  backgammon  and  other  amusements,  one 
of  the  young  nuns  exclaimed,  **Oh,  how  headstrong 
are  those  wretches  in  the  cells — ^they  are  as  bad  as 
the  day  they  were  first  put  in !" 

This  exclamation  was  made,  as  I  supposed,  in 

^consequence  of  some  recent  conversation  with  them, 
43  I  knew  her  to  be  particularly  acquainted  with 

•ithe  older  one. 

Some  of  the  vacant  cells  were  occasionally  used 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


191 


I    ^ 


for  temporary  imprisonment.  Three  nuns  were 
confined  in  them,  to  my  knowledge,  for  disobedience, 
to  the  Superior,  as  she  called  it.  They  did  not  join 
the  rest  in  singing  in  the  evening,  being  exhausted 
by  the  various  exertions  of  the  day.  The  Superior 
ordered  them  to  sing,  and  as  they  did  not  comply, 
ofter  her  command  had  been  twice  repeated,  she 
ordered  them  away  to  the  cells. 

They  were  immediately  taken  down  into  the  cel- 
lar, placed  in  separate  dungeons,  and  the  doors  shut 
and  barred  upon  them.  There  they  remained 
through  that  night,  the  following  day,  and  second 
night,  but  were  released  in  time  to  attend  mass  on 
the  second  morning. 

The  Superior  used  occasionally  to  show  some- 
thing in  a  glass  box,  which  we  were  required  to 
regard  with  the  highest  degree  of  reverence.  It 
was  made  of  wax,  and  called  an  Agnus  Dei.  She 
used  to  exhibit  it  to  us  when  we  were  in  a  state  of 
grace:  that  is,  after  confession  and  before  sacra- 
ment. She  said  it  had  been  blessed  iii  the  very  dish 
in  which  our  Saviour  had  eaten.  It  was  brought 
from  Rome.  Every  time  we  kissed  it,  or  even 
looked  at  it,  we  were  told  it  gave  a  hundred  days 
release  from  purgatory  to  ourselves,  or  if  we  did 
not  need  it,  to  our  next  of  kin  in  purgntory,  if  not  a 
Protestant.  If  we  had  no  such  kinsman,  the  bene- 
fit was  to  go  to  the  souls  in  purgatory  not  prayed  for, 

Tane  Ray  would  sometimes  say  to  me,  "  feet's 
kiss  it — some  of  our  friends  will  thank  us  for  it." 

I  have  been   repeatedly  employed  in  carrying 


*i 


W     *>•  li.  * 


(    . 


; 


IN 


,> 


I  (■ 


M['.']l 


102 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


dainties  of  different  kinds  to  the  little  private  room 
I  have  mentioned,  next  beyond  the  Superior's  sitting- 
room,  in  the  second  story,  which  the  priests  made 
their  *♦  Holy  RetreatJ^  That  room  I  never  was  al- 
lowed to  enter.  I  could  only  go  to  the  door  with  a 
waiter  of  refreshments,  set  it  down  upon  a  little  stand 
near  it,  give  three  rnps  on  the  door,  and  then  retire 
to  a  distance  to  await  orders.  When  any  thing 
was  to  be  taken  away,  it  was  placed  on  the  stand  by 
the  Superior,  who  then  gave  three  raps  for  me,  and 
closed  the  door. 

The  Bishop  I  saw  at  least  once  when  he  appear- 
ed worse  for  wine,  or  so:nething  of  the  kind.  After 
partaking  of  refreshments  in  the  Convent,  he  sent 
for  all  the  nuns,  and,  on  our  appearance,  gave  us 
his  blessing,  and  put  a  piece  of  poundcake  on  the 
shoulder  of  each  of  us,  in  a  manner  which  appeared 
singular  and  foolish. 

There  are  three  rooms  in  the  Black  Nunnery 
which  I  never  entered.  I  had  enjoyed  much  liber- 
ty, and  had  seen,  as  I  supposed,  all  parts  of  the 
building,  when  one  day  I  observed  an  old  nun  go 
to  a  corner  of  an  apartment  near  the  northern  end 
of  the  western  wing,  push  the  end  of  her  scissors 
into  a  crack  in  the  panelled  wall,  and  pull  out  h 
door.  I  w^as  much  surprised,  because  I  never  hnd 
conjectured  that  any  door  was  there;  and  it  appear- 
ed, when  I  afterward  examined  the  place,  that  no 
indication  of  it  could  be  discovered  on  the  closest 
scrutiny.  I  stepped  forward  to  see  what  was  with- 
in, and  saw  three  rooms  opening  into  each  other; 


I  i 


BLACK   NUNNBRT 


199 


1 1  >-i 


but  the  nun  refused  to  admit  me  within  the  door, 
which  she  said  led  to  rooms  kept  as  depositories. 

She  herself  entered  and  closed  the  door,  so  that 
I  could  not  satisfy  my  curiosity ;  and  no  occasion 
presented  itself.  I  always  had  a  strong  desire  to 
know  the  use  of  these  apartments :  for  I  am  sure 
they  must  have  been  designed  for  some  purpose  of 
which  I  was  intentionally  kept  ignorant,  otherwise 
they  would  never  have  remained  unknown  to  me 
so  long.  Besides,  the  old  nun  evidently  had  some 
strong  reasons  for  denying  me  admission,  though 
she  endeavoured  to  quiet  my  curiosity. 

The  Superior,  after  my  admission  into  the  Con- 
vent, had  told  me  that  I  had  access  to  every  room 
in  the  building ;  and  I  had  seen  places  which  bore 
witness  to  the  cruelties  and  the  crimes  committed 
under  her  commands  or  sanction ;  but  here  was  a 
succession  of  rooms  which  had  been  concealed 
from  me,  and  so  constructed  as  if  designed  to  be 
unknown  to  all  but  a  few.  I  am  sure  that  any 
person,  who  might  be  able  to  examine  the  wall  in 
that  place,  would  pronounce  that  secret  door  a  sur- 
prising piece  of  work.  I  ne^er  saw  any  thing  of 
the  kir^d  which  appeared  to  me  so  ingenious  and 
skilfully  made.  I  told  Jane  Ray  what  I  had  seen, 
and  she  said,  at  once,  **  We  will  get  in  and  see 
what  is  there."  But  I  suppose  she  never  found  an 
opportunity. 

I  naturally  felt  a  good  deal  of  curiosity  to  learn 
whether  such  scenes,  as  I  had  witnessed  in  the 
death  of  Saint  Francis,  were  common  or  rare,  and 
17 


sM 


ir  I 


!'.r 


w  ,>ii*'*li 


il',- '  . 


194 


BLAtl   NUNNERY. 


V    i 


'!;u 


•       ■  i 
Hi 


|l  : 


hi  I 


!'  II  \l 


,1  ,' 


'     :f 


t    ' 


took  an  opportunity  to  inquire  of  Jane  Ray.     Her 
reply  was — 

**  Oh,  yes ;  and  there  were  many  murdered  while 
you  was  a  novice,  whom  you  heard  nothing  about." 
This  was  all  I  ever  learnt  on  the  subject ;  but  aU 
though  I  was  told  nothing  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  killed,  I  supposed  it  to  be  the  same  which 
I  had  seen  practised,  viz.  by  smothering. 

I  went  mto  the  Superior's  parlour  one  day  for 
something,  and  found  Jane  Ray  there  alone,  looking 
into  a  book  with  an  appearance  of  mterest.     I  ask- 
ed her  what  it  was,  but  she  made  some  trifling  an- 
swer, and  laid  it  by,  as  if  unwilling  to  let  me  take 
it.    There  are  two  bookcases  in  the  room ;  one  on 
the  right  as  you  enter  the  door,  and  the  other  oppo- 
site, near  the  \vindow  and  the  sofa.     The  former 
contains  the  lecture-books  and   other  printed  vol- 
umes, the  latter  seemed  to  be  filled  with  note  and 
account  books.     I  have  often  seen  the  keys  in  the 
Dookcases  while  I  have  been  dusting  the  furniture, 
and  sometimes  observed  letters  stuck  up  in  the 
room  ;  although  I  never  looked  into  one,  or  thought 
of  doing  so,  as  we  were  under  strict  orders  not  to 
touch  any  of  them,  and  the  idea  of  sins  and  pen- 
ances was  always  present  with  me. 

Some  time  after  the  occasion  mentioned,  I  was 
sent  into  the  Superior's  room,  with  Jane,  to  arrange 
it ;  and  as  the  same  book  was  lying  out  of  the  case, 
she  said,  "  Come,  let  us  look  into  it."  I  immediate- 
ly consented,  and  we  opened  it,  and  turned  over 
several  leaves.     It  was  about  a  foot  and  «  ^•^iri'^nor. 


..  ^  J 


BLACK   NUNNERY. 


195 


as  nearly  as  I  can  remember,  a  foot  wide,  and  about 
two  inches  thick,  though  I  cannot  speak  with  par- 
ticular precision,  as  Jane  frightened  me  almost  as 
soon  as  I  touched  it,  by  exclaiming,  "  There,  you 
have  looked  into  it,  and  if  you  tell  of  me,  I  will  of 
you." 

The  thought  of  being  subjected  to  a  severe  pen- 
ance, which  I  had  reason  to  apprehend,  fluttered  me 
very  much;  and  although  I  tried  to  overcome  my 
fears,  I  did   not  succeed  very  well.     I  reflected, 
however,  that  the  sin  was  already  committed,  and 
that  It  would  not  be  increased  if  I  examined  the 
book.     I,  therefore,  looked  a  little  at  several  pages 
though  I  still  felt  a  good  deal  of  agitation.     1  saw, 
at  once,  that  the  volume  was  a  record  of  the  en- 
trance of  nuns  and  novices  into  the  Convent,  and  of 
the  births  that  had  taken  place  in  the  Convent. 
Entries  of  the  last  description  were  made  in  a  brief 
manner,  on  the  following  plan :  I  do  not  give  the 
names  or  dates  as  real,  but  only  to  show  the  form  of 
entering  them. 

Saint  Mary  delivered  of  a  son,  March  16,  1834, 

Saint  Clarice         "        daughter,  April  2,  " 
,     Saint  Matilda        "        daughter,  April  30,  •• 

No  mention  was  made  in  the  book  of  the  death  of 
the  children,  though  I  well  knew  not  one  of  them 
could  be  living  at  that  time. 

Now  I  presume  that  the  period  the  book  embra- 
ced, was  about  two  years,  as  several  names  near  the 
beginning  I  knew ;  but  I  can  form  only  a  rough 
conjecture  of  the  number  of  infants  born,  and  mur- 


t  1 


r 


i' 


)  I 


lltt)    '.iS 


!■       !' 


196 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


mil  '■' 


mirm 


riH 


(!'..TW 


liil. 


t  i 


?    i 


^;li 


.1  (.  ( 


if    * 


iered  of  course,  records  of  which  it  contained.  I 
suppose  the  book  contained  at  least  one  hundred 
pages,  that  one  fourth  were  written  upon,  and  that 
each  page  contained  fifteen  distinct  records.  Seve- 
ral pages  were  devoted  to  the  list  of  births.  On  this 
supposition  there  must  have  been  a  large  number, 
which  I  can  easily  believe  to  have  been  born  there 
in  the  course  of  two  years. 

What  were  the  contents  of  the  other  books  be- 
longing to  the  same  case  with  that  which  I  looked 
into,  I  have  no  idea,  having  never  dared  to  touch 
one  of  them;  I  believe,  however,  that  Jane  Raj 
was  well  acquainted  with  them,  knowing,  as  I  do, 
her  intelligence  and  prying  disposition.  If  she 
eould  be  brought  to  give  her  testimony,  she  would 
doubtless  unfold  many  curious  particulars  now  un* 
known. 

I  am  able,  in  consequence  of  a  circumstance 
which  appeared  accidental,  to  state  with  confidence 
the  exact  number  of  persons  in  the  Convent  one  day 
of  the  week  in  which  I  left  it.  This  may  be  a  point 
of  some  interest,  as  several  secret  deaths  had  occur- 
red since  my  taking  the  veil,  and  many  burials  had 
been  openly  made  in  the  chapel. 

I  was  appointed,  at  the  time  mentioned,  to  lay  out 
the  covers  for  all  the  inmates  of  the  Convent,  inclu- 
ding the  nuns  in  the  cells.  These  covers,  as  I  have 
said  before,  were  linen  bands,  to  be  bound  around 
the  knives,  forks,  spoons,  and  napkins,  for  eating. 
These  were  for  all  the  nuns  and  novices,  and 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  ten.    As  the  numbtr 


4 


BLACK  NUNNERY. 


197 


.  m 


of  novices  was  then  about  thirty,  I  know  that  there 
must  have  been  at  that  time  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  veiled  nuns. 

I  was  occasionally  troubled  with  a  desire  of  es- 
caping from  the  nunnery,  and  was  much  distressed 
whenever  I  felt  so  evil  an  imagination  rise  in  my 
mind.  I  believed  that  it  was  a  sin,  a  great  sin,  and 
did  not  fail  to  confess  at  every  opportunity,  that  I 
k^i  discontent.  My  confessors  informed  me  that  I 
was  beset  by  an  evil  spirit,  and  urged  me  to  pray 
against  it.  Still,  however,  every  now  and  then,  I 
would  think,  "  Oh,  if  I  could  get  out !" 

At  length  one  of  the  priests,  to  whom  I  had  con 
fessed  this  sin,  informed  me,  for  my  comfort,  that  he 
had  begun  to  pray  to  Saint  Anthony,  and  hoped  his 
intercession  would,  by-and-by,  drive  away  the  evil 
spirit.  My  desire  of  escape  was  partly  excited  by 
the  fear  of  bringing  an  infant  to  the  murderous 
hands  of  my  companions,  or  of  taking  a  potion 
whose  violent  effects  I  too  well  knew. 

One  evening,  however,  I  found  myself  more  filled 
with  the  desire  of  escape  than  ever ;  and  what  ex- 
ertions I  made  to  dismiss  the  thought,  proved  en- 
tirely unavailing.  During  evening  prayers,  I  be- 
came quite  occupied  with  it ;  and  w^hen  the  time  for 
meditation  arrived,  instead  of  falling  into  a  doze  as 
I  often  did,  although  I  was  a  good  deal  fatigued,  I 
found  no  difficulty  in  keeping  awake.  When  this 
exercise  was  over,  and  the  other  nuns  were  about  to 
fetire  to  the  sleeping-room,  my  station  being  in  th« 

17* 


i  h 


,:. 


I.  : 


Hn 


u 


<.l, 


M  '   I 


i,  •     'i 


■)    i 


198 


BLACK    XVNKERT. 


i      i 


Ei 


.i£ 


ll- 


l;i 


priYate  sick-room  for  the  night,  I  withdrew  to  my 
post,  which  was  the  little  sitting-room  adjoining  it 

Here,  then,  I  threw  myself  upon  the  sofa,  and, 
being  alone,  reflected  a  few  moments  on  the  manner 
of  escaping  which  had  occurred  to  me.  The  phy- 
sician had  arrived  a  little  before,  at  half-past  eight  ] 
and  I  had  now  to  accompany  him,  as  usual,  from 
bed  to  bed,  with  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  to  write  down 
his  prescriptions  for  the  direction  of  the  old  nun, 
who  was  to  see  them  administered.  What  I  wrote 
that  evening,  I  cannot  now  recollect,  as  my  mind 
was  uncommonly  agitated ;  but  my  customary  way 
was  to  note  down  briefly  his  orders  in  this  manner: 
1  d  salts,  St.  Matilde. 
1  blister,  St.  Genevieve,  &c  &c.  ^ 

I  remember  that  I  wrote  three  such  orders  th^tt 
evening,  and  then,  having  finished  the  rounds,  I  re> 
turned  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  sitting-room. 

There  were  two  ways  of  access  to  the  street  from 
those  rooms :  first,  the  more  direct,  from  the  passage 
adjoining  the  sick-room,  down-stairs,  through  a  door, 
into  the  nunnery-yard,  and  through  a  wicket-gate; 
that  is  the  way  by  which  the  physician  usually  en* 
ters  at  night,  and  he  is  provided  with  a  key  for  that 
purpose. 

It  would  have  been  unsafe,  however,  for  me  to 
pass  out  that  way,  because  a  ma^  is  kept  continually 
in  the  yard,  near  the  gate,  who  sleeps  at  night  in  a 
email  hut  near  the  door,  to  escape  whose  observa* 
lion  would  be  impossible.  My  only  hope,  there> 
ibr^  was,  that  I  might  gain  my  passage  through 


8LA0K   irVNNBBT 


m 


ill 


I  I 


'   .1 


Am  other  way,  to  do  which  I  must  pass  through 
the  sick-room,  then  through  a  passage,  or  smal. 
room,  usually  occupied  hy  an  old  nun;  another 
passage  and  staircase  leading  down  to  the  yard,  and 
a  large  gate  opening  into  the  cross  street.  I  had 
no  liberty  ever  to  go  beyond  the  sick-room,  and 
knew  that  several  of  the  doors  might  be  fastened 
Still,  I  determined  to  try;  although  I  have  often 
since  been  astonished  at  my  boldness  in  undertaking 
what  would  expose  me  to  so  many  hazards  of  fail* 
ure,  and  to  severe  punishment  if  found  out. 

It  seemed  as  if  I  acted  under  some  extraordinary 
impulse,  which  encouraged  me  to  do  what  I  should 
hardly  at  any  other  moment  have  thought  of  under* 
taking.  I  had  set  but  a  short  time  upon  the  sofa, 
however,  before  I  rose,  with  a  desperate  determina- 
tion to  make  the  experiment.  I  therefore  walked 
hastily  across  the  sick-room,  passed  into  the  nun's 
room,  walked  by  her  in  a  great  hurry,  and  almost 
without  giving  her  time  to  speak  or  think,  said,^— 
**  A  message!"  and  in  an  instant  was  through  the 
door,  and  in  the  next  passage.  I  think  there  was 
another  nun  with  her  at  the  moment ;  and  it  is  prob* 
Me  that  my  hurried  manner,  and  prompt  intima- 
tion that  I  was  sent  on  a  pressing  mission  to  the  Su* 
perior,  prevented  them  from  entertaining  any  sus- 
picion of  my  intention.  Besides,  i  had  the  written 
orders  of  the  physician  in  my  hand,  which  may 
have  tended  to  mislead  them;  and  it  was  well 
known  to  some  of  the  nuns,  that  I  had  twice  left  thi» 
Convent  and  returned  from  choice ;  so  that  I  wa» 


^  i) 


■  i  : 


^i; 


0 


i  il!    ^ 


i. 


«■;  III 


i-i,)m 


!l: 


'  Nh^ 


".I 


'I  u\ 


f,:V| 


i' 


Sith: 


I  I 


If; 


^''^ 


n 


k 


i     : 


200 


BLACK    NUNNERY. 


I 


probably  more  likely  to  be  trusted  to  remain  than 
many  of  the  others. 

The  passage  which  I  had  now  reached  had  sev* 
eral  doors,  with  all  which  I  was  acquainted ;  that  on 
the  opposite  side  opened  into  a  community-room, 
where  I  should  probably  have  found  some  of  the 
old  nuns  at  that  hour,  and  they  would  certainly 
have  stopped  me.  On  the  leA,  however,  was  a 
large  door,  both  locked  and  barred ;  but  I  gave  the 
door  a  sudden  swing,  that  it  might  creak  as  little  as 
possible,  being  of  iron.  Down  the  stairs  I  hurried, 
and  making  my  way  through  the  door  into  the 
yard,  stepped  across  it,  unbarred  the  great  gate,  and 
was  at  liberty ! 


i.'! 


APPENDIX 


,       ,..; 


AWFUL  DISCLOSURES; 


COVTAXHniO 


L  MSCEPTIOIf  OF  THB  FIROT  EDITIONB. 
U  SEQUEL  TO  THB  NARRATIV& 
m  9Jm^^^^'  BBVIBW  OF  THB  WHOLB  BUBJBCC 


'f:fi'\y 


B 


.  f 


/ 


!1 


1 

1 

' 

■'    '  '  a 

■ 

i9 

1 

I     .    ! 


n 


I' I 


!!*^  "   III  ' 


f^i 


{K 


.i     ! 


I  i 


i 


).    t; 


*«" 


i  ^. 


APPENDIX,  NO.  1. 

RECEPTION  OP  THE  FIRST  EDITIONS. 

I  HAVE  now  reached  the  close  of  what  appeared 
in  my  first  editions.  Some  of  my  leaders  may  feel 
a  wish  to  know  what  has  heen  saii  of  me  and  my 
book,  by  those  whose  character  or  connexions  it  ex- 
poses. Different  persons  have  expressed  to  me 
their  fears  that  I  should  be  kidnapped,  stabbed,  or 
poisoned ;  but  of  this  I  have  had  but  little  apprehen- 
sion. Others  may  suppose  that  the  priests  of  Mon- 
treal, and  some  of  those  in  New  York,  against 
whom  I  have  made  different  charges,  may  have  ap- 
peared against  me  in  ways  of  which  they  are  igno- 
rant, and  have  published  facts,  or  used  arguments  of 
serious  import,  if  not  of  decided  force.  For  the  in- 
formation of  my  readers,  I  have  determined,  though 
at  some  inconvenience,  to  lay  before  them  a  fair 
view  of  what  they  have  done. 

I  was  well  convinced  before  the  publication  of  my 
first  book,  that  the  priests  would  do  or  say  very  lit- 
tle against  me  or  my  work ;  and  several  persons  can 
testify,  that  I  made  declarations  of  this  kind,  with 
distinctness,  in  their  presence.  The  reasons  I  gave 
for  this  opinion  were  these, — that  they  feared  an  in- 
vestigation, and  that  they  feared  further  disclosures. 
They  must  desire  to  keep  the  public  mind  calm, 
and  diverted  with  other  matters ;  and  to  avoid  in- 


1 

^    '' 

,1 

'}■:.} 

•1  \ 

i     , 

I 

' 

':■! 

1; 

1' 

< 

1  1 


9M 


APPENDIX. 


If  . 


til 


ill' '  f    M 


)        ( 


creasing  my  ill-will.  There  were  mdiridunls,  I 
was  well  aware,  both  in  and  out  0/ the  nunnery,  and 
the  Seminary,  who,  from  the  first  notice  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  my  book,  would  be  extremely  disquieted, 
until  they  had  ascertained  the  extent  to  which  my 
developments  reached.  When  they  had  read  for 
themselves,  I  well  knew,  they  would  enjoy  a  tem* 
porary  relief,  finding  that  my  "  Disclosures"  wer« 
not  the  most  "  awful"  which  they  had  reason  to  ex* 
pect. 

I  also  fel(,  that  they  would  apprehend  something 
further  from  me;  and  that  a  dread  of  this  would 
probably  keep  them  quiet,  or  confine  them  to  gene- 
ral denials  of  my  story.  And  this  has  been  the  caso^ 
even  to  so  great  a  degree,  that  the  remark  has  been 
often  repeated — how  feeble  is  their  defence !  Why 
did  they  not  rather  remain  silent  than  do  so  little— 
that  which  is  for  them  worse  than  nothing  ?  The 
causes  of  this  I  could  assign.  The  world  does  nol 
understand  them  all. 

Three  principal  grounds  of  opposition  have  been 
taken  against  me  by  my  enemies — 1st,  That  I  had 
never  been  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery ;  2d,  That 
my  character  entitled  me  to  no  confidence ;  3d,  That 
my  book  was  copied,  •*  word  for  word,  and  letter  for 
letter,"  from  an  old  Eurcpean  work,  called  **  The 
Gates  of  Hell  opened."  Besides  these  grounds^ 
several  others  have  been  attempted,  but  less  seri- 
ously supported — such  as  that  I  was  deranged,  or 
(Subject  to  occasional  alienation  of  mind ;  and  that  I 
was  not  Maria  Monk,  but  a  counterfeit  of  a  persott 


' .  i 


f 


BSCEPTION  OF  TUB  WORK. 


203 


by  that  name,  still  in  Canada,  and,  as  some  said,  in 
the  Black  Nunnery. 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  grounds,  1  will 
here  simply  say,  that  it  has  been,  beyond  controver- 
sy, the  principal  one,  but  has  recently  been  aban- 
doned.  The  great  object  of  the  six  affidavits,  pub- 
lished in  Montreal-  in  November,  1835,  and  repub- 
lished here  soon  after  the  publication  of  my  book« 
was  to  prove  that  I  had  never  been  a  nun — not  even 
a  novice.  The  reader  may  judge  for  himself,  for 
those  affidavits  are  published  in  full  in  this  volume, 
and  they  are  the  only  ones  which  have  been  pub- 
lished against  me.  The  reader  will  also  see  in  an 
extract  from  the  New  York  Catholic  Diary  of  March 
last  that  that  fact  is  admitted ;  and  by  a  later  ex- 
tract from  it,  that  a  Canadian  priest  who  takes  the 
trouble  to  write  from  Sherbrooke,  has  no  new  testi- 
mony to  refer  to. 

As  to  my  charictw,  I  never  claimed  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Amtri-Rn  people,  (as  the  Roman  priests 
do,)  on  a  pretence  of  peculiar  holiness  of  life.  That 
would  have  been  unreasonable  in  a  stranger,  and 
especially  one  who  had  been  in  a  nunnery.  My 
first  editions,  as  well  as  the  present,  bear  witness 
that  I  appealed  to  the  evidence  of  facts  which  no  one 
could  controvert  if  once  produced — an  examination 
of  the  interior  of  my  late  prison.  Not  a  lisp  has 
yet  been  heard  of  assent  to  my  proposition.  The 
Protestant  association  have  published  a  challenge, 
ibr  several  weeks,  which  is  on  another  page  among 
18 


Mi 


li'i 


') 


k<:\ 


I, 


^\ 


111 


'"'. 


I , 

i 


m,': 


I! 


I    . 


'  (I 

,1  \ 


' 


1 1 


I  ■<■} 


\ 


\ 


h 


i;.fi^ 


r  * 


'  '   / 


p. 


I  , 


'<  II 


In  I  i' 


1 


I  ! 


I    t«.;   ,1 


S06 


APPENDIX. 


the  extracts — but  no  one  has  accepted  it,  and  I  will 
venture  to  say,  no  one  will. 

My  publishers,  on  seeing  the  assertion  made  by 
the  editor  of  the  Boston  (Roman  Catholic)  Pilot, 
that  my  book  was  a  mere  copy  from  an  old  Euro- 
pean work,  called  "The  Gates  of  Hell  opened," 
published  an  olTer  of  $100  for  any  book  so  resem- 
bling  it — without  success.     If  there  be  any  volume 
on  earth  which  contains  the  developments  of  any 
fugitive  nun,  whose  case  resembled  my  own,   1 
should  expect  it  to  merit  such  a  title  as  the  above; 
and  I  should  know  how  to  excuse  the  author  for 
using  so  strong  an  expression,  after  struggling,  as 
I  have  had  to  do,  in  giving  my  own  narrative,  with 
those  feelings  which  are  so  apt  to  arise  in  my  heart 
at  the  recollection  of  scenes  I  have  passed  through. 
The  opening  of  the  Gates  of  Hell,  whether  in  a 
European  or  a  Canadian  Convent,  may  probably 
disclose  scenes  very  like  to  each  other;  but  if  there 
be  any  resemblance  between  my  book  and  any  other 
in  the  world,  I  solemnly  declare  that  it   can  be 
owing  only  to  a  resemblance  between  the  things  de- 
scribed in  both,  as  not  a  sentence  has  been  copied 
from  any  book  whatever,  and  I  defy  the  editor  of  the 
Boston  Pilot — (not  to  perjure  himself,  as  he  gratui- 
tously proposed — but  to  do  what  would  be  at  once 
much  more  difficult  and  satisfactory) — produce  his 
book,  or  a  single  page  of  it. 

I  have  been  charged  with  occasional  alienation  of 
mind — ^a  very  strong  evidence,  I  should  think,  of  my 
being  a  nun ;  for  what  eloped  nun  ever  escaped  that 


/    ) 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


207 


charge?  Like  converted  Roman  Catholics,  run- 
away nuns  are  commonly  pronounced  to  be  out  of 
their  wits,  or  under  the  influence  of  evil  spirits,  of 
course,  on  the  ground  that  this  is  proved  by  the  fact 
itself. 

As  to  my  being  the  real  Maria  Monk  or  not,  I  pre- 
sume the  testimony  of  some  of  my  old  school-mates^ 
now  in  New  York,  will  pass.  To  these,  however, 
it  cannot  be  necessary  to  resort,  otherwise  the  Mon* 
treal  affidavits  will  be  good  for  nothing. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  the  whole  of  the  testi- 
mony which  has  been  brought  out  against  me.  A 
few  remarks,  necessary  to  acquaint  the  reader  with 
the  progress  of  things,  will  be  given  in  their  place. 
Next  to  these  will  appear  the  testimony  of  several 
persons,  who  have  voluntarily  presented  themselves, 
since  the  publication  of  my  first  edition,  claimed  ac- 
quaintance with  me,  and  volunteered  their  testimo- 
ny. I  need  not  say  how  gratifying  I.  have  found 
such  spontaneous  marks  of  kindness,  from  friends, 
whose  ready  and  unsolicited  appearance  is  a  real 
favour  to  me,  although  chiefly  due,  as  they  declare, 
to  their  love  of  truth  and  justice. 

Almost  immediately  afler  the  appearance  of  my 
"Awful  Disclosures,"  the  following  anonymous 
handbill  was  distributed  through  the  city  of  New 
York.  It  was  also  published  in  the  Catholic  Diary, 
and  other  papers,  with  violent  denunciations. 

"  Maria  Monk  I    Villany  Exposed. 

**VAmi  du  PeupU,  a  Montreal  paper,  gives  us  the 
ienoueTnetU  of  the  tale  of  scandal  which  the  ProtestaiU 


i! 


'{  • 


I    1    i 


>  I 


I 

it    '  I 


)'.'{ 


r 


1  '^  ^ 


'J 


'    ■  ^  ' ; 

1'  i '  1 

-jM^ 

i  '1  V 

,   ,:i        'ii 

1  ^ 


I  ) 


208 


▲PPEKOIX. 


Vindicator,  Christian  Herald,  et  id  genus  omne,  put  fof 
vard  a  few  months  since,  and  which  the  Protestant  Ed- 
itors of  three  political  journals  in   Montreal,  at  once 
indignantly  repelled    without   knowing  its  origin.     In- 
stead of  an  eloped  Nun,  recounting  the  horrors  of  the 
Convent,  the  heroine  of  the  talc  is  a  Protestant  young 
girl,  who  has  been  for  four  years  past   under  protec- 
tion of  a  Mr.  Hoyte,  once  styled  a  Reverend  Methodist 
Preacher,  and  connected  with  Canadian  Sunday  Schools. 
The  paper  quoted  above,  gives,  at  full  length,  the  alildavitA 
of  the  mother  of  the  girl,  who  is  also  a  Protestant,  and  of 
several  other  individuals,  who  had  no  motive  to  favour 
Catholic  Institutions.    The  disconsolate  mother  testifies  on 
oath  that  she  had  been  solicited  by  the  seducer  of  her  child 
to  swear  that  she  was  a  Nun,  and  that  the  father  of  the 
infant  was  a  Catholic  Clergyman — that  a  promise  had 
been  made  her  of  a  comfortable  provision  for  herself, 
and  for  her  unfortunate  child  and  offspring — if  she  would 
only  do  that.    The  poor  woman  had  virtue  enough  to 
reject  the  base  proposal;  and  thus,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hoyte, 
who  had  returned  from  New- York  for  this  purpose,  ac- 
companied, it  is  stated,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brewster  and 
Judge  Turner,  failed  in  the  object  of  his  visit. 

"  A  Methodist  Preacher  of  the  place  immediately  dis- 
claimed all  connexion  of  the  society  with  Mr.  Hoyte,  and 
in  a  letter,  published  in  the  papers,  expressed  his  regret 
that  any  credit  had  been  given  to  a  foul  charge,  emanating 
from  a  source  so  polluted." — Catholic  Herald. 

*T^  The  affidavits  will  be  published  as  soon  as  they 
shall  be  received  from  Canada. — Maria  Monk's  Book,  far 
from  injuring  the  Catholic  religion,  will  promote  it;  for 
the  publication  is  a  real  disclosure  of  the  wickedness  and 
hypocrisy  of  its  enemies,  who  dare  to  go  as  far  as  to  con- 
ceal their  own  crimes,  by  calumniating  those  who  never 
did  any  thing  against  them,  and  have  never  interfered 
with  them. — Probably  the  author  of  this  pious  book  is  a 
minister ;  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  not  a  single  am 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


209 


of  the  miniGters  has  opposed  it,  or  cautioned  the  people 
against  it,  as  it  is  their  duty  to  do,  the  calumniators  being 
of  their  own  congregations.  However,  by  holding  a  prayer- 
meeting,  making  a  few  faces,  and  giving  a  few  affecting 
turns  to  their  voices,  they  certainly  have  already  washed 
out  the  awful  crime  of  these  calumnies,  because  faith 
alone  will  save  them,  and  they  certainly  have  the  true 
faith,  which  shows  itself  by  these  true  fruits  of  charity. 
They  are  the  elect,  and  consequently,  they  are  not  like  the 
Catholic  Priests,  who  are  all  wicked. — The  reader  may 
recollect  the  parable  of  the  pharisee  and  the  publican. 
****** 
"Granting  the  truth  of  Maria  Monk's  story,  will  it  not 
reveal  the  weakness  of  Protestant  origin  \    Where  would 
Protestantism  be,  were  it  not  engendered  and  nursed  by 
profligate  Monks  and  Nuns  1    Yes,  gentlemen,  profligate 
Monks  and  Nuns  have  been  your  nursing  Fathers  and 
Mothers !    The  chaste  spouse  of  the  Redeemer  could  hold 
no  fellowship  with  such  characters.    She  has  flung  them 
over  the  fences  of  the  *  fold,*  happy  to  have  a  sink  into 
which  to  throw  her  filth." 

As  soon  as  my  first  edition  appeared,  several  of 
the  newspapers  of  New  York  referred  to  the  pub* 
lication  in  terms  of  unqualified  condemnation.  Not 
content  with  giving  my  motives  in  producing  it, 
without  having  seen  me,  they  hesitated  not  to  pro- 
nounce it  utterly  false,  with  as  much  boldness  as  if 
they  had  really  known  something  more  of  the  mat- 
ter than  the  public  at  large.  A  poor  and  injured 
female  had  disclosed  to  their  countrymen  facts  of 
deep  interest  to  all ;  and  they,  without  examination, 
perhaps  without  leaving  their  offices  to  make  a  sin- 
gle inquiry,  did  their  utmost  to  decry  me,  and  used 
terms  which  they  cannot  but  regret  sooner  or  later. 
18» 


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210 


APPENDIX 


Requests  were  immediately  made  to  some  of  them 
to  listen  to  evidence,  which  were  not  accepted.  The 
editors  of  the  Courier  and  Enquirer  were  requested, 
in  a  note  from  the  publishers,  to  mention  in  their 
paper  what  parts  of  my  book  they  intended  to  pro- 
nounce false,  and  what  was  their  evidence.  But 
they  took  no  notice  of  it,  although  desired  to  pub- 
lish the  note.  Many  other  editors  were  invited  to 
publish  communications  or  extracts,  but  most  of 
ihem  refused  from  the  first,  and  all  the  papers  w^cre 
soon  closed  against  my  cause. 

In  the  country,  the  newspapers  generally,  I  be- 
lieve, followed  the  example  set  in  this  city,  though 
in  Albany,  Boston,  and  one  or  two  other  places,  a 
solitary  one  or  two  appeared  disposed  to  examine 
the  subject. 

At  length  appeared  the  long-threatened  Montreal 
affidavits,  which  are  here  inserted.  Thev  were 
published  in  several  Roman  Catholic,  and  one  oi 
two  Protestant  papers  of  New  York,  with  this  in* 
troduction — 

"  Maria  Monk^s  •  Awful  Disclosures*    Villany  exposed  1 1 

"  Of  all  the  curious  pranks  and  fanatical  schemes  which 
the  foes  of  Catholicity  have  been  playing  for  some  years 
post,  there  is  not  one  that  fills  the  mind  with  greater  disgust 
than  the  scandalous  tale  given  to  the  public  by  Maria  Monk 
and  her  wicked  associate. 

**  By  the  evidence  which  covers  the  followmg  pages,  the 
reader  will  see  the  man  himself  clearly  convicted  of  being 
a  base  calumniator,  and  arch-hypocnte.  He,  and  his  asso- 
ciate prostitute,  will  be  seen,  with  brazen  impudence,  al- 
tampting  to  fix  on  the  virtuous  Catholic  Ladies  and  Catlio- 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


Sit 


1»  l^ests  of  Montreal,  the  shameless  character  which  bo* 
loDgs  only  to  themselves." 

From  the  Montreal  Courier,  Nov.  16,  ISKJ 
*The  New  York  Protestant  Vindicator  of  the  4lh  N» 
Tcmber,  reiterates  its  calumnies  concerning  the  Roman 
Catholic  Clergy  and  Nuns  of  this  city.    We  cherished  tha 
hope  that,  after  the  simultaneous  and  unanimous  cxpres- 
tion  of  disbelief  and  reprehension  with  which  its  extrava- 
gant assertions  had  been  met  by  the  Canadian  press,  both 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  the  conductors  of  that  journal 
would  have  been  slow  to  repeat,  without  better  evidence  of 
their  truth,  the  same  disgraceful  charges.    We  have  been 
deceived  in  our  calculation.    The  fanatical  print  demands 
counter  evidence  before  it  will  withdraw,  or  acknowledge 
the  falsehood  of  its  previous  statements.    We  believe  that 
counter  evidence  has  been  already  adduced,  of  a  nature  far 
surpassing,  in  weight,  the  claims  to  credibility  which  the 
accusations  themselves  could  offer.    The  impure  fabrica- 
tion trumped  up  by  a  woman  of  immoral  character  and  in- 
sane mind,  in  conjunction  with  a  man  of  equally  depraved 
habits,  can  never  be  weighed  in  the  balance  with  the  testi- 
mony of  Protestants,  living  in  the  same  community  as  the 
accused,  and,  therefore,  possessing  the  means  of  judging  of 
the  truth  or  falsehood  of  what  was  advanced.    By  any  per* 
sons  of  less  interested  credulity,  and  of  more  discrimination 
and  moral  honesty,  than  what  the  conductors  of  the  Prote^- 
tant  Vindicator  appear  *.o  possess,  counter  evidence  of  tha 
above  nature  would  have  been  deemed  sufficient. 

"  There  are  two  reasons  which  have  mainly  weighed  with 
Xtt,  to  revert  to  the  subject  of  the  Protestant  Vindicator*$ 
charges,  and  to  publish  the  subjoined  lengthy  documents. 
We  consider,  in  the  first  place,  our  endeavours  to  exposa 
falsehood  as  a  solemn  duty  we  owe  to  the  defamed ;  and« 
in  the  second,  we  should  regard  ourselves  to  be  degraded 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  did  we  live  in  a  community  whera 
such  abominations,  as  are  alleged,  existed,  and  not  dar% 
openly  and  loudly,  to  denounce  the  pcrpetraton^ 


''rill! 


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212 


APPENDIX. 


.  "Under  these  impressiuns,  we  proceed,  at  a  considerabla 
Bacrifice  of  the  space  of  our  journal,  to  lay  before  our  read* 
ers  the  following^  affidavits,  which  will  sufficiently  disclose 
the  nature  of  the  Protestant  Vindicator's  calumnies,  their 
origin,  and  the  degree  of  credit  which  can  be  attached  to 
Ihem." 

"(affidavit  op  dr.  ROBERTSON.) 

"  William  Robertson,  of  Montreal,  Doctor  in  Medicine, 
being  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists,  deposeth  and 
eaith  as  follows:— On  the  9th  of  November,  1834,  three 
men  came  up  to  my  house,  having  a  young  female  in  com- 
pany with  them,  who,  they  said,  was  observed  that  fore- 
noon, on  the  bank  of  the  Canal,  near  the  extremity  of  the 
St.  Joseph  Suburbs,  acting  in  a  manner  which  induced 
some  people  who  saw  her  to  think  that  she  intended  to 
drown  herself.  They  took  her  into  a  house  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, where,  after  being  there  some  hours,  and  inter- 
rogated as  to  who  she  was,  &c.,she  said  she  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Robertson.  On  receiving  this  information,  they 
brought  her  to  my  house.  Being  from  home  when  they 
came  to  the  door,  and  learning  from  Mrs.  Robertson  that 
she  had  denied  them,  they  conveyed  her  to  the  watch- 
house.  Upon  hearing  this  story,  in  company  with  G. 
Auldjo,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  I  went  to  the  watch-house 
to  inquire  into  the  affair.  We  found  the  young  female, 
whom  I  have  since  ascertained  to  be  Maria  Monk, 
daughter  of  W.  Monk,  of  this  city,  in  custody.  She 
said,  that  although  she  was  not  my  daughter,  she  was  the 
child  of  respectable  parents,  in,  or  very  near  Montreal, 
who,  from  some  light  conduct  of  hers,  (arising  from  tem- 
porary insanity,  to  which  she  was  at  times  subject  from  her 
infancy,)  had  kept  her  confined  and  chained  in  a  cellar  for 
the  last  four  years.  Upon  examination,  no  mark  or  ap- 
pearance indicated  the  wearing  of  manacles,  or  any  other 
mode  of  restraint.  She  said,  on  my  observing  this,  that  her 
mother  always  took  care  to  cover  the  irons  with  soA  cloths 
Vo  prevent  them  injuring  the  skin.    From  the  appearanc* 


^'  X 


RBCBPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


Sll 


jgf  her  hands,*  she  evidently  had  not  been  used  to  wortc 
To  remove  her  from  the  watch-house,  where  she  was  con* 
fined  with  some  of  the  most  profligate  women  of  the  town, 
taken  up  for  inebriety  and  disorderly  conduct  in  the  streets^ 
as  she  could  not  give  a  satisfactory  account  of  herself,  I,  as 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  sent  her  to  jail  as  a  vagrant.    The 
following  morning,  I  went  to  the  jail  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
certaining, if  possible,  who  she  was.    After  considerable 
persuasion,  she  promised  to  divulge  her  story  to  the  Rev» 
H.  Esson,  one  of  the  clergj'men  of  the  Church  cf  Scotland,' 
to  whose  congregation  she  said  her  parents  belonged.  That 
gentleman  did  call  at  the  jail,  and  ascertained  who  sho 
was.    In  the  course  of  a  few  days  she  was  released,  and  I 
did  not  see  her  again  until  the  month  of  August  last,  when 
Mr.  Johnston,  of  Griffintown,  Joiner,  and  Mr.  Cooley,  of 
Che  St.  Ann  Suburbs,  Merchant,  called  upon  me,  about  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  and,  afler  some  prefatory  remarks,  men- 
tioned that  the  object  of  their  visit  was,  to  ask  me,  as  a  ma- 
gistrate, to  institute  an  inquiry  into  some  very  serious 
charges  which  had  been  made  against  some  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Priests  of  the  place,  and  the  Nuns  of  the  General 
Hospital,  by  a  female,  who  had  been  a  Nun  in  that  Institu* 
tion  for  four  years,  and  who  had  divulged  the  horrible  se- 
crets of  that  establishment,  such  as  the  illicit  and  criminal 
intercourse  between  the  Nuns  and  the  Priests,  stating  par- 
ticulars of  such  depravity  of  conduct,  on  the  part  of  these 
people,  in  this  respect,  and  their  murdering  the  offspring  of 
these  criminal  connexions,  as  soon  as  they  were  born,  to 
the  number  of  from  thirty  to  forty  every  year.    I  instantly 
stated,  that  I  did  not  believe  a  word  of  what  they  told  moi 
and  that  they  must  have  been  imposed  upon  by  some  eviK 
disposed  and  designing  person.    Upon  inquiry  who  this 
Nun,  their  informant,  was,  I  discovered  that  she  answered 

exactly  the  description  of  Maria  Monk,  whom  I  had  so 
■■  ■  ^— —      I  .»~^— — p^ 

*  Compare  this  with  the  last  Bentenee  but  one  in  this  affidavit* 
Why  does  Dr.  R.  not  give  names  of  persons  and  thoir  affidaTital  R 
HMCMit  jet  been  done- April,  183€. 


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214 


APPENDIX. 


much  trouble  about  last  year,  and  mentioned  to  these  indi< 
viduals  ray  suspicion,  and  what  I  knew  of  that  unfortunate 
^irl.  Mr.  Cooley  said  to  Mr.  Johnston,  let  us  go  home,  we 
are  hoaxed.  They  told  me  that  she  was  then  at  Mr.  John- 
ston's house,  and  requested  me  to  call  there,  and  hear  her 
own  story.  The  next  day,  or  the  day  following,  I  di<l  call, 
and  saw  Maria  Monk,  at  Mr.  Johnston's  house.  She  re- 
peated in  my  presence  the  substance  of  what  was  mentioned 
to  me  before,  relating  to  her  having  been  in  the  Nunnery 
for  four  years ;  having  taken  the  black  veil ;  the  crimes 
committed  there ;  and  a  variety  of  other  circumstances 
concerning  the  conduct  of  the  Priests  and  Nuns.  A  Mr.^ 
Hoyte  was  introduced  to  me,  and  was  present  during  the 
whole  of  the  time  that  I  was  in  the  house.  He  was  repre- 
sented as  one  of  the  persons  who  had  come  in  from  New 
York  with  this  young  woman,  for  the  purpose  of  investi- 
gating into  this  mysterious  affair.  I  was  asked  to  take  her 
deposition,  on  her  oath,  as  to  the  truth  of  what  she  had 
stated.  I  declined  doing  so,  giving  as  reason,  that,  from 
my  knowledge  of  her  character,  I  considered  her  assertions 
upon  oath  were  not  entitled  to  more  credit  than  her  bare 
assertion,  and  that  I  did  not  believe  either ;  intimating,  at 
the  same  time,  my  willingness  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for 
a  full  investigation,  if  they  could  get  any  other  person  to 
corroborate  any  part  of  her  solenr;n  testimony,  or  if  a  direct 
charge  were  made  against  any  particular  individual  of  a 
criminal  nature.  During  the  first  interview  with  Messrs. 
Johnston  and  Cooley,  they  mentioned,  that  Maria  Monk 
had  been  found  in  New  York  in  a  very  destiiuie  situation  by 
Fome  charitable  individuals,  who  administered  to  her  neces- 
sities, being  very  sick.  She  expressed  a  wish  to  see  a  clergy- 
man, as  she  had  a  dreadful  secret  which  she  wished  to  di- 
vulge before  she  died ;  a  clergyman  visiting  her,  she  related 
to  him  the  alleged  crimes  of  the  Priests  and  Nuns  of  the  Gen- 
eral Hospital  at  Montreal.  After  her  ?!cci^7ery,  she  was  vis- 
ited and  examined  by  the  Mayor  and  some  lawyers  at  New 
York,  afterward  at  Troy,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  on 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK, 


21S 


the  subject ;  and  I  understood  them  to  say,  that  Mr.  Hoyte 
and  two  other  gentlemen,  one  of  them  a  lawyer,  were  sent 
to  Montreal  with  her,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  into  the 
truth  of  the  accusations  thus  made.  Although  incredulous 
Bs  to  the  truth  of  Maria  Monk's  story,  I  thought  it  incum- 
bent upon  me  to  make  some  inquiry  concerning  it,  and 
have  ascertained  where  she  has  been  residing  a  great  part 
of  the  time  she  states  having  been  an  inmate  of  the  Nun- 
nery.  During  the  summer  of  1832  she  was  at  service  in 
William  Henry's;  ihe  winters  of  1832-3,  she  passed  in 
this  neighbourhood,  at  St.  Ours  and  St.  Denis.  The  ac- 
counts given  of  her  conduct  that  season  corroborate  the 
opinions  I  had  before  entertained  of  her  character. 

"W.  R0BERTS0.V. 
"  Sworn  before  me,  at  Montreal,  this  14th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1835.  «  Benj.  Holmes,  J.  P.'» 

(appidavit  op  my  mother.) 

"  On  this  day,  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  October,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  thirty-five,  before  me,  William  Rob- 
ertson, one  of  his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Montreal,  came  and  appeared  Isabella  Mills,*  of  the 
city  of  Montreal,  widow  of  the  late  William  Monk,  who 
declared,  that  wishing  to  guard  the  public  against  the  de- 
ception which  has  lately  been  practised  in  Montreal  by  de- 
signing men,  who  have  taken  advantage  of  the  occasional 
derangement  of  her  daughter,  to  make  scandalous  accusa- 
tions against  the  Priests  and  the  Nuns  in  Montreal,  and 
aflerward  to  make  her  pass  herself  for  a  nun,  who  hsLd 
left  the  Convent.  And  after  having  made  oath  on  the  holy 
evangelists,  (to  say  the  truth)  the  said  Isabella  Mills  de- 
clares and  says,  a  man  decently  dressed  (whom  afterward 
I  knew  to  be  W.  R.  Hoyte,  stating  himself  to  be  a  minister 
of  New  York,)  came  to  my  house  on  or  about  the  middle 
of  August  last,  and  inquired  for  one  Mr.  Mills;  that  Mr. 

*  My  mother's  maiden  name  was  Mills. 


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216 


APPENDIX, 


Esson,  a  minister  here,  had  told  him  1  could  give  some  ln» 
formation  about  that  man ;  I  replied  that  I  knew  no  one  of 
that  name  in  Montreal,  but  that  I  had  a  brother  of  that 
name  five  miles  out  of  town.    He  then  told  me  that  he  had 
iately  come  to  Montreal,  with  a  young  woman  and  child 
of  five  weeks  old ;  that  the  woman  had  absconded  from 
him  at  Goodenough's  tavern,  where  they  were  lodging, 
and  left  him  with  the  child ;  he  gave  me  a  description  of 
the  woman :  I  unfortunately  discovered  that  the  descrip« 
tion  answered  my  daughter,  and  the  reflection  that  this 
stranger  had  called  upon  Mr.  Esson,  our  pastor,  and  in- 
quiring for  my  brother,  I  suspected  that  ihis  was  planned  t 
I  asked  for  the  child,  and  said  that  I  would  place  it  in  a 
nunnery;  to  that  Mr.  Hoyte  started  every  objection,  in 
abusive  language,  against  the  nuns.    At  last  he  consented 
to  give  me  the  child,  provided  I  would  give  my  writing 
that  it  should  be  presented  when  demanded.    We  left  the 
house  together,  Mr.  Hoyte  requesting  me  to  walk  at  a  dis> 
tance  from  him,  as  he  was  a  gentleman.    I  followed  him 
to  Mr.  Croodenough*s  Hotel,  and  he  directed  me  to  room 
Vo.  17,  and  to  demand  the  child:  a  servant  maid  gave  it 
to  me ;  Mr.  Hoyte  came  up,  and  gave  me  the  clothing.    I 
came  home  with  the  child,  and  sent  Mrs.  Tarbert,  an  old 
acquaintance,  in  search  of  my  daughter;  her  deposition 
will  be  seen.    The  next  day,  Mr.  Hoyte  came  in  with  an 
elderly  man,  Dr,^  Judge  Turner,  decently  dressed,  whom 
he  introducad  to  me  as  a  Mr.  Turner,  of  St.  Alban's. 
^  iiey  demanded  to  see  the  child,  which  I  produced.    Mr. 
Hoyte  demanded  if  I  had  discovered  the  mother;  I  said 
not.    She  must  be  found,  said  he ;  she  has  taken  away  a 
shawl  aad  a  bonnet  belonging  to  a  servant  girl  at  Goode- 
nough's ;  he  would  not  pay  for  them ;  she  had  cost  him  tod 
much  already ;  that  his  things  were  kept  at  the  hotel  oil 
that  account.  Being-afraid  that  this  might  more  deeply  in- 
Tolve  my  daughter,  I  oifered  my  own  shawl  to  replace  the 
•ne  taken ;  Mr.  Hoyte  first  took  it,  but  afterward  returned 
It  to  me  on  my  promise  tliat  I  would  pay  for  the  shawl  ami 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


217 


bonnet.    In  the  course  of  the  day,  Mrs.  Tarbert  found  my 
daughter,  but  she  would  not  come  to  my  house ;  she  sent 
the  bonnet  and  shawl,  which  were  returned  to  their  owner, 
who  had  lent  ihem  to  my  daughter  lo  assist  her  in  procur- 
ing her  escape  from  Mr.  Hoyte  at  the  horel.    Early  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day,  Mr.  Hoyle  came  to  my  house 
with  the  same  old  man,  wfshing  me  to  make  all  my  eflbrts 
to  find  the  girl,  in  the  meaniime  speaking  very  biiterly 
against  the  Catholics,  the  Priests,  and  the  Nuns;  mention- 
ing that  my  daughter  had  been  in  the  nunnery,  where  she 
had  been  ill  treated.    I  denied  that  my  daughter  had  ever 
been  in  a  nunnery ;  that  when  she  was  about  eight  years  of 
age,  she  went  to  a  day-school.    At  that  time  came  in  two 
other  persons,  whom  Mr.  Hoyte  introduced  ;  one  was  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Brewster,  I  do  not  recollect  the  otlicr  reverence's 
name.   They  all  requested  me,  in  the  most  pressing  terms,  to 
try  to  make  it  out ;  my  daughter  had  been  in  the  nunnery; 
and  thut  she  had  some  connexion  with  the  Piiesis  of  the 
seminary,  of  which  nunneries  and  Priests  sijc  spoke  in  the 
most  outrageous  terms;  said,  that  should  I  make  that  out, 
myself  my  daughter,  and  child,  would  be  protected  for  life. 
I  expected  to  get  rid  of  their  importunities,  in  relating  the 
melancholy  circumstances  by  which  my  daughter  was  fre- 
quently deranged  in  her  head,  and  told  them,  that  when  at 
the  age  of  about  seven  years,  she  broka  a  slate  pencil  in 
her  head ;  that  since  thai  time  her  mental  faruliies  were 
deranged,  and  by  times  much  more  than  at   Uher  times, 
but  that  she  was  far  from  being  an  idiot ;  that  she  could 
make  the  most  ridiculous,  but  most  plausible  .stories ;  and 
that  as  to  the  history  that  she  had  been  in  a  nunnery,  it  was 
a  fabrication,  for  she  never  was  in  a  nunnery;  that  at  one 
time  I  wished  to  obtain  a  place  in  a  nunnery  for  her ;  that 
I  had  employed  the  influence  of  Mrs.  De  Montenach,  of 
Dr.  Nelson,  and  of  our  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Esson,  but 
without  success.     I  told  them  notwithstanding  I  was  a  Pro- 
testant, and  did  not  like  the  Roman  Catholic  religion — like 
lH  other  respectable  Protestants,  I  held  the  priests  of  the 
19 


w' 


■  i'ii 


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.' 


i: 


is- 


111 


;»i'i 


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Ph.-'-. 


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1        ■ 

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i  ;  1 

I 


1 

'.    1 

in.'  ■ 

■    ll|  : 

1 ; 

li^^'^' 


urn    * 


!S2i8 


APPENDIX. 


seminary  and  the  nuns  of  Montreal  in  veneration,  as  th« 
most  pious  and  charitable  persons  I  ever  knew.  AHe; 
many  more  solicitations  to  the  same  effect,  three  of  them 
retired,  but  Mr.  Hoyte  remained,  adding  to  the  other  soli- 
citations;  he  was  stopped,  a  person  having  rapped  at  the 
door;  it  was  then  candlelight.  I  opened  the  door,  and 
found  Doctor  M'Donald,  who  told  me  that  my  daughter 
Maria  was  at  his  house,  in  the  most  distressing  situation ; 
that  she  wished  him  to  come  and  make  her  peace  with  me  ; 
I  went  with  the  Doctor  to  his  house  in  M'Gill-street ;  she 
came  with  me  to  near  my  house,  but  would  not  come  in, 
notwithstanding  I  assured  her  that  she  would  be  kindly 
treated,  and  that  I  would  give  her  her  child ;  she  crossed 
the  parade  ground,  and  I  went  into  the  house,  and  returned 
for  her. — Mr.  Hoyte  followed  me.  ??he  was  leaning  on  the 
west  railing  of  the  parade ;  we  went  to  her :  Mr.  Hoyte 
told  her,  my  dear  Mary,  I  am  sorry  you  have  treated  your- 
self and  me  in  this  manner ;  I  hope  you  have  not  exposed 
what  has  passed  between  us,  nevertheless ;  I  will  treat  you 
the  same  as  ever,  and  spoke  to  her  in  the  most  affectionate 
terms ;  took  her  in  his  arms ;  she  at  first  spoke  to  him  very 
cross,  and  refused  to  go  with  him,  but  at  last  consented 
and  went  with  him,  absolutely  refusing  to  come  to  my 
liouse.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Hoyte  came  and  demanded  the 
(Child;  I  gave  it  to  him.  Next  morning  Mr.  Hoyte  re- 
turned, and  was  more  pressing  than  in  his  former  solicita- 
tion, and  requested  me  to  say  that  my  daughter  had  been 
in  the  nunnery :  that  should  I  say  so,  it  would  be  better 
than  one  hundred  pounds  to  me  ;  that  I  would  be  protected 
for  life,  and  that  I  should  leave  Montreal,  and  that  I  would 
be  better  provided  for  elsewhere ;  I  answered,  that  thou- 
sands of  pounds  would  not  induce  me  to  perjure  myself; 
then  he  got  saucy  and  abusive  to  the  utmost ;  he  said  he 
came  to  Montreal  to  detect  the  infamy  of  the  Priests  and 
the  Nuns ;  that  he  could  not  leave  my  daughter  destitute 
in  the  wide  world  as  I  had  done ;  afterward  said,  No !  she 
is  not  your  daughter,  she  is  too  sensible  for  that,  and  went 


RECEPTION  OF  TIl£    VORS^ 


219 


■I'- 


away. — He  was  gone  but  a  few  minute  ,  when  ^^  r.  Doucet, 
an  ancient  Magistrate  in  Montreal,  entered.    ^iThai  gi    - 
tleman  told  me  that  Mr.  Goodenough  had  just  now  caU<  d 
upon  him,  and  requested  him  to  let  me  know  that  I  ha    a 
daughter  in  Montreal ;  that  she  had  come  in  with  a  Mr. 
Hoyte  and  a  child,  and  that  she  had  left  Mr.  Hoyte  and  the 
child,  but  that  she  v;as  still  in  Montreal,  so  as  to  enable  me 
to  look  for  her,  and  that  I  might  prevent  some  mischief 
that  was  going  on.    Then  I  related  to  him  partly  what  I 
have  above  said.    When  he  was  gomg,  two  other  gentle- 
men came.    I  refused  to  give  them  any  information  at 
first,  expecting  that  they  were  of  the  party  that  had  so 
much  agitated  me  fur  a  few  days ;  but  being  informed  by 
Mr.  Doucet,  that  he  knew  one  of  them,  particularly  Mr. 
Perkins,  for  a  respectable  citizen  for  a  long  time  in  Mon- 
treal, and  the  other,  Mr.  Curry,  two  ministers  from  the 
United  States,  that  if  they  came  to  obtain  some  information 
about  the  distressing  events  she  related  to  have  occurred 
in  her  family,  he  thought  it  would  do  no  harm,  and  I  rela- 
ted it  to  them :  they  appeared  to  be  afflicted  with  such  a  cir- 
cumstance ;  I  have  not  seen  them  any  more.    I  asked  Mr. 
Doucet  if  the  man  Hoyte  could  not  be  put  in  jail ;  he  re- 
plied that  he  thought  not,  for  what  he  knew  of  the  busi- 
ness.   Then  I  asked  if  the  Priests  were  informed  of  what 
was  going  on;  he  replied,  yes,  but  they  never  take  up 
these  things;  they  allow  their  character  to  defend  itself.  A 
few  days  after,  I  heard  that  my  daughter  was  at  one  Mr. 
Johnson's,  a  joiner,  at  Griffintown,  with  Mr.  Hoyte ;  that 
he  passed  her  for  a  nun  that  had  escaped  from  the  Hotel 
Dieu  Nunnery.    I  went  there  two  days  successively  with 
Mrs.  Tarbert ;  the  first  day,  Mrs.  Johnson  denied  her,  and 
said  that  she  was  gone  to  New  York  with  Mr.  Hoyte.    As 
I  v;as  returning,  I  met  Mr.  Hoyte  on  the  wharf,  and  I  re- 
proached him  for  his  conduct.    I  told  him  that  my  daugh- 
ter had  been  denied  to  me  at  Johnson's,  but  that  I  would 
have  a  search-warrant  to  have  her ;  when  I  returned,  he 
liad  really  gone  with  my  unfortunate  daughter ;  and  I  re^ 


♦  '  ■!'  . 


■\ 


w 


n 


i)..r^ 


1 

i-  ■ 

» 

% 

'   \    1 

1 ' 

Ill  'It 


■!i)l 


!&■ 


\* 


220 


APPENDIX. 


ceived  from  Mr.  Johnson,  his  wife,  nnd  a  number  of  pcr- 
ions  in  their  house,  the  grossc.l  abuse,  mixed  with  lexis  of 
the  Gospel,  Mr.  Johnson  brins:ing  a  Bible  for  me  to  swear 
on.  1  retired  more  deeply  afflicted  than  ever,  and  further 
snyeth  not. 
••  Sworn  before  me,  this  24ih  of  October,  ia35." 


\     ■! 

1      '   I 

; 

i    1 

.hi ;. 

( 

III  II I  n 


'          :       1 

1 

-I-' 

^i^ 

i  i 


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f  I 


1 1 


(affidavit  of  nancy  m'gan.) 

'* Province  of  Loxp^r  Canada,  f 
Ih'ittrkt  of  Mont  real.         ^ 

"Before  me,  William  Robertson,  one  of  His  Majesty's 
Justices  of  the  Peace,  for  the  District  of  Montreal,  came 
and  appeared  Nancy  M'Gan,  of  Montreal,  wife  of  James 
Tarberl,  who  has  requested  me  to  receive  this  affidavit, 
and  declared  that  she  has  been  intimately  acquainted  with 
Mrs.  (widow)  Monk,  of  Montreal,  a  Protestant  woman. 
I  know  the  said  Maria  Monk ;  last  spring  she  told  me  that 
the  father  of  the  child  she  then  was  carrying,  was  burned 
in  Mr.  Owsten's  house.    She  often  went  away  in  the  coun- 
try, and  at  the  request  of  her  mother  I  accompanied  her 
across  the  river.    Last  summer  she  came  back  to  my  lodg- 
ings, and  told  me  that  she  had  made  out  the  father  of  the 
child ;  and  that  very  night  left  me  and  went  away.    The 
next  morning  I  found  that  she  was  in  a  house  of  bad  fame, 
where  I  went  for  her,  and  told  the  woman  keeping  that 
house,  that  she  ought  not  to  allow  that  girl  to  remain  there, 
for  she  was  a  girl  of  good  and  honest  family.   Maria  Monk 
then  told  me  that  she  would  not  go  to  him,  (alluding,  as  I 
understood,  to  the  father  of  the  child,)  for  that  he  wanted 
her  to  swear  an  oath  that  would  lose  her  soul  for  ever,  but 
jestingly  said,  should  make  her  a  lady  for  ever.    I  then  told 
her,  (Maria.)  do  not  lose  your  soul  for  money.    She  told 
me  she  had  swapped  her  silk  gown  in  the  house  where  I 
had  found  her,  for  a  calico  one,  and  got  some  money  to 
boot ;  having  previously  told  me  if  she  had  some  money 
she  would  go  away,  and  would  not  go  near  him  any  more. 
Soon  afler,  Mr.  Hoyte  and  another  gentleman  came.    Mr. 
Hoyte  asked  me  where  she  had  .slept  the  night  previous, 


) 


nSCEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


221 


ind  that  he  would  go  for  the  silk  gown ;  the  woman  show- 
ed the  gown,  and  told  him  that  if  he  would  pay  three  dol- 
lars he  should  have  the  gown  ■,  he  went  away,  and  came 
back  with  Maria  Monk,  paid  the  three  dollars  and  got  the 
gown  ;  I  was  then  present. 

"  Being  at  Mrs.  Monk's,  I  saw  a  child  which  she  men- 
f  .oned  to  be  her  daughter  Maria's  child.  Some  time  after, 
Mrs.  Monk  requested  me  to  accompany  her  to  Griffintown, 
to  look  for  her  daughter.  We  went  to  Mr.  Johnson's  house, 
a  joiner  in  that  suburb;  we  met  Mr.  Hoyte  and  he  spoke 
to  Mrs.  Monk ;  when  at  Mrs.  Johnson's,  Mrs.  Manly  asked 
for  her  daughter;  Mrs.  Johnson  said  she  was  not  there. 
I  saw  Mr.  Hoyte  at  Mrs.  Monk's;  he  was  in  company  with 
three  other  persons,  apparently  Americans,  earnestly  enga- 
ged in  conversation,  but  so  much  confused  I  could  not 
make  out  what  was  said ;  and  further  sayeth  not." 

her 
"  Nancy  t  M'Gan. 
mark. 
"  Sworn  before  me,  on  this  24th  October,  1835. 

"  W.  Robertson,  J.  P." 

(affidavit  op  ASA  GOODENOUGH.) 

*  Prnvinte  of  Lower  Canada,  ) 
District  of  Montreal.        \ 

"Before  me,  William  Robertson,  one  of  His  Majesty's 
Justices  of  the  Peace,  for  the  District  of  Montreal,  appear- 
ed Asa  Goodenongh,  of  Montreal,  holder  of  the  Exchange 
Coffee  House,  who,  after  having  made  oath  upon  the  Holy 
Evangelists,  declareth  and  sayeth,  that  on  or  about  the 
nineteenth  of  August  last,  two  gentlemen  and  a  young  fe- 
male with  a  child,  put  up  at  the  Exchange  Coflfee  House, 
of  which  I  am  the  owner ;  they  were  entered  in  the  book, 
one  under  the  name  of  Judge  Turner,  the  other  as  Mr. 
Hoyte,  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  agent  or  superintendent 
for  the  establishment  of  Sunday-schools,  &c. 

"  Being  informed  by  Catharine  Conners,  a  confidential 
icrvant  that  something  mysterious  was  passing  amongst 
I9» 


H^ 


:|l!t 


o 


•(     ( 


■';;  11' J 


ilfij!:! 


V 


I  w 


If 


''h'-  -    i'^  ^: 


\\ 


f 


If!' 


I ; 


(    * 
1 


';M 


I  i 


■  n  V.i 


•  i 


♦I 

t 
! 

'V 


\ 

t 

t    ■ 

i 

j 

< 

i|'^i|!  r 


222 


APPENDIX. 


the  above-named,  which  Jed  me  to  call  on  them  for  an  ex* 
planation,  ihey  answered  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  manner. 
I  ailerward  learned  that  the  name  of  th«  young  woman 
was  Maria  Monk,  that  her  mother  lived  in  town,  that  she 
was  not  married  to  Mr.  Hoyte,  and  they  came  to  Montreal 
with  the  view,  as  Mr.  Hoyte  said,  to  disclose  the  infamy  of 
the  Priests,  whilst  she  was  at  the  Nunnery.    I  thought  it 
prudent  to  give  information  of  this  to  a  magistrate.    See- 
ing Mr.  Doucet's  name  on  the  list,  I  went  to  him,  and  re- 
quested him  to  give  information  to  the  mother  of  the  young 
■woman,  of  the  circumstances  in  which  her  daughter  was. 
He  did  so,  and  the  disclosure  of  the  design  of  Mr.  Hoyte 
was  the  consequence. 
"  Montreal.  "  Asa  Goodenough." 

"  The  following  affidavits  have  been  translated  from  lh# 
L'Ami  du  Peupte,  Montreal,  Nov.  7,  1835." 

(affidavit  of  CATHARINE  CONNERS.) 

*  Province  of  Lotcer  Canada,  ? 
District  of  Montreal.  S 

"  Before  me,  W.  Robertson,  one  of  His  Majesty's  Justices 
of  the  Peace  for  the  District  of  Montreal,  appeared  Catharine 
Conners  of  Montreal,  a  servant  in  the  hotel  of  Mr.  Good- 
enough,  in  the  city  of  Montreal ;  she  having  made  oath  on 
the  Holy  Evangelists,  to  say  the  truth  and  nothing  but  the 
truth,  declared  and  said  what  follows: 

"  Towards  the  19ih  of  August  last,  two  men  and  a  wo- 
man came  to  the  Exchange  Coffee  House;  their  names  were 
written  in  the  book,  one  by  the  name  of  Judge  Turner,  and 
the  other  as  Mr.  Hoyte ;  the  name  of  the  woman  was  not 
written  in  the  book,  in  which  the  names  of  travellers  are 
written,  because  I  was  informed  that  they  were  taking  a 
single  room  with  two  beds.  Some  time  after  another  room 
was  given  to  them  for  their  accommodation ;  the  woman 
passed  for  the  wife  of  Mr.  Hoyte. 

"  The  day  following,  when  I  was  making  the  bed,  I 
found  the  woman  in  tears;  having  made  the  remark  to  her 
that  her  child  was  a  very  young  traveller,  she  replied  that 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


223 


she  had  not  the  power  to  dispense  with  the  journey,  for 
they  travelled  on  business  of  importance;  she  also  said  that 
she  had  never  had  a  day  of  happiness  since  she  had  left 
Montreal,  which  was  four  years,  with  Mr.  Hoyie;  she  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  go  and  see  her  father.    She  entreated  me 
to  try  and  procure  secretly  clothes  for  her,  for  Mr.  Hoyte 
wished  to  dine  with  her  in  his  own  room,  in  which  he  was 
then  taking  care  of  the  child.    I  gave  her  my  shawl  and 
bonnet,  and  conducted  her  secretly  out  by  the  street  St. 
Pierre ;  she  never  returned,  and  left  the  child  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Hoyte.    She  said  th.it  her  husband  was  a  Methodist 
preacher,  anr?  a?eni  of  the  Sunday  Scliools  for  Montreal, 
in  which  he  ha'I  resided  four  month.s  last  winter;  but  she 
had  not  then  been  with  him.    When  I  returned  to  the 
room,  Mr.  Hoyte  was  still  taking  care  of  the  child;  he 
asked  me  if  I  had  seen  his  lady;  I  said  no.    Upon  this 
question  he  told  me  that  the  father  of  his  lady  was  dead, 
that  her  mother  yet  lived  in  the  suburbs  of  Gtuebcc,  and  he 
asked  me  for  all  the  clothes  vvhich  I  had  given  to  wash  for 
him,  his  lady  and  child ;  clothes  the  lady  had  taken  from 
the  only  portmanteau  which  they  had.    Beyond  that,  I  per- 
ceived nothing  remarkable,  except  that  Mr.  Hoyte  wished 
to  conceal  this  woman,  and  to  prevent  her  from  going  out. 
I  heard  the  judge  say  to  him,  'now  she  is  yours.'    Sworn 
before  me  the  2d  November,  1835. 

(Signed)  "  W.  Robertson. 

"  Mary  M  Caffrey,  also  a  chambermaid  in  the  hotel  of 
Mr.  Goodcnough,  corroborates  the  preceding  deposition. 
(Signed)  "  W.  Robertson." 

(affidavit  op  henrv  m'donald.) 

^Prorincpt  of  Lower  Canada^  f 
District  of  Montreal.         \ 

"  Before  me,  W.  Robertson,  oneol  His  Majesty's  Justices 

of  the  Peace,  for  the  District  of  Montreal,  appeared  Henry 

M'Donald,  physician,  who,  after  taking  an  oath  on  the 

Holy  Evangelists  to  say  the  truth,  declared,  that  in  the 

month  of  August  last,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a 


I.I 


r' 


r;  till 

I'    \ 


lilt 


!  i 


\    t 


i 


I 


'  t 


n  I 


1^'.  11  i  i!  -S  ' 


:K.;i 


!  rf 


utti 


APPENDIX. 


young  woman  called  at  his  house  with  all  the  symptoms  oi 
an  extraordinary  agitation,  and  in  great  distress.  She  asked 
his  professional  advice,  complaining  of  great  pains  in  the 
breast.   On  questioning  her,  he  learned  that  she  had  a  young 
child,  which  she  said  was  at  Mr.  Goodenough's,  and  that  this 
child  was  taken  away  from  her.    She  said  that  the  father 
of  the  child  was  a  Methodist  minister,  and  general  agent 
of  the  Sunday  Schools.    She  told  me  his  name,  but  I  can- 
not recollect  it.    She  told  me  that  now  and  then  her  intel 
lectual  faculties  were  weakened  in  such  a  manner  that  she 
could  not  support  herself.    She  told  me  that  she  'would  be 
under  great  obligation  to  me,  if  I  would  go  to  her  mother's 
house,  and  get  her  child,  and  procure  lodgings  for  her ;  that 
she  was  without  means,  and  did  not  know  where  to  go.  She 
could  not  remain  with  her  mother,  because  she  felt  that 
her  conduct  had  disgraced  her  family.    I  went  in  quest  of 
Mrs.  Monk,  her  mother;  she  had  just  come  in  quest  of  her 
daughter,  and  they  went  away  together  from  my  house. 

(Signed)  "  Henry  M'Donald. 

**  Sworn  before  me  the  2d  November,  1835. 

(Signed)  "  W.  Robertson." 

(affidavit  op  MATTHEW  RICHEY.) 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Montreal  Morning  Courier. 

Sir, — Among  the  affidavits  published  in  your  paper  of 
to-day,  relating  to  Mr.  Hoyte  and  Maria  Monk,  I  observe 
a  deposition  by  Mr.  Goodenough,  that  when  Mr.  Hoyte, 
in  the  month  of  August  last,  put  up  at  the  Exchange  Cof- 
fee-house, he  was  entered  on  the  book  as  a  Methodist 
Preacher,  and  Agent  or  Superintendent  of  Sunday  Schools, 
&c.  It  has,  however,  been  ascertained,  from  an  examina- 
tion of  the  book  referred  too,  that  no  official  designation  is 
appended  in  it  to  Mr.  Hoyte's  name.  This  discrepancy, 
Mr.  Goodenough  states,  took  place  entirely  through  mis- 
take, and  he  did  not  know  that  Mr.  Hoyte  was  thus  char- 
acterized in  his  affidavit  till  he  saw  it  in  print.  But  as  a 
similar  mistake  has  fotmd  its  way  into  several  of  the  de- 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


225 


positions  which  have  been  elicited  by  this  unhappy  affair, 
I  deem  it  incumbent  upon  me,  as  a  regularly  appointed 
Methodist  Minister  of  this  city,  to  declare  that  Mr.  Hoyte 
has  never  had  any  connexion  with  the  Methodist  Society, 
either  as  a  preacher  or  as  an  agent  for  Sunday  Schools; 
and  I  would,  at  the  same  time,  express  my  surprise  and  re- 
gret, that  the  Neic-York  Protestant  Vindicator  s\\ow\A  have 
taken  up,  and  industriously  circulated,  charges  of  so  grave 
a  nature  against  the  Priests  and  Nuns  of  this  city,  derived 
from  so  polluted  a  source.  From  such  a  species  of  vindi- 
cation^ no  cause  can  receive  either  honour  or  credit.  By 
giving  this  publicity,  you  will  confer  a  favour  on  yours, 
respectfully,  "  Matthkw  Rickey, 

•'  Montreal,  Nov.  16,  1835.  Wesleyan  Minister^ 

"Although  we  could  produce  several  other  affidavits, 
of  an  equally  unimpeachable  character  as  the  above,  yet 
we  deem  the  evidence  advanced  more  than  enough  to  show 
the  entire  falsehood  and  extravagance  of  the  fabrications 
in  the  Protestant  Vindicator^ 

Here  closes  all  the  testimony  that  has  been  pub- 
lished or  brought  against  me.  It  requires  the  sup- 
pression of  my  feelings  to  repeat  to  the  world 
charges  against  myself  and  my  companions,  so  un- 
founded, and  painful  to  every  virtuous  reader.  Bui 
I  trust  to  the  truth  to  substantiate  my  narrative,  and 
prefer  that  every  thing  should  be  lliirly  laid  before 
the  world. 

That  my  opponents  had  nothing  further  io  pro- 
duce against  me  at  that  time,  is  proved  by  tho  fol- 
lowing remark  by  the  Editor  of  the  New  York 
Catholic  Diary,  to  be  found  in  the  very  paper  ia 
which  he  published  the  preceding  affidavits  :— 
"  Heret  then^  is  the  whole  /'* 


i| 


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I 


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1 


226 


APPENDIX. 


In  a  N.  Y.  Catholic  Diary  of  March  last,  is  a 
letter  from  Father  McMahon,  a  Missionary,  dated 
at  Sherbrooke,  in  Canada,  in  which,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  extracts  {jiven  beyond,  he  does  not  even  al- 
lude to  any  other  testimony  than  this.  Of  course 
my  readers  will  allow  that  I  have  reason  to  say- 
'*  Here,  then,  is  the  whole !" 

The  following  extracts  are  given  for  several  rea 
sons.     1st.  To  prove,  by  the  admission  of  my  ad- 
versaries themselves,  that  no  new  testimony  has  been 
produced  since  the  publication  of  the  Montreal  af- 
fidavits.    2d.  That  no  disposition  is  shown  to  bring 
the  truth  to  the  only  fair  test — the  opening  of  the 
Nunnery.     3d.  That  they  are  inconsistent  in  sev- 
eral respects,  as,  while  they  pretend  to  leave  the 
characters  of  the  priests  and  nuns  to  defend  them- 
selves, they  labour  with  great  zeal  and  acrimony  to 
quiet  public  suspicion,  and  to  discredit  my  testimo- 
ny.    4th.  Another  object  in  giving  these  extracts  is, 
to  show  a  specimen  of  the  style  of  most  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  writers  against  me.     In  respect  to 
argument,  temper,  and  scarcity  of  facts.   Father 
McMahon  is  on  a  level  with  the  editors  of  the 
Diary  and  Green  Banner,  judging  from  such  of 
their  papers  as  I  have  seen. 

Prom  Father  McMahon^s  Letter  to  the  Editor  of  the  N.  Y.  Catholia 

Diary  of  March,  1836. 
"  The  silence  by  which  you  indulge  the  latent  springs  ot 
a  mal-propcnse,  so  far  from  being  an  argument  for  culpa- 
bility^  is  based  upon  the  charitableness  of  a  conscious  inno- 
cence, and  is,  therefore,  highly  commendable.    I  say  it  is 


m 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


1^27 


highly  commendable,  inasmuch  as  these  worthy  and  re- 
spectable characters  do  not  deign  to  answer  falsehood,  or 
turn  their  attention  from  their  sacred  avc.ations  by  effect- 
ually repelling  allegations  which  all  the  men,  women,  and 
children,  able  to  articulate  a  syllable,  in  the  city  of  Mon- 
treal, have  repeatedly  pronounced  to  be  utterly  false,  detest- 
ably foul,  and  abominably  scandalous.    *    ♦    *    ♦ 

"May  I  now  call  upon  you,  honest  Americans,  who, 
though  you  may  differ  from  me  in  doctrinal  points  of  reli- 
gion, have,  I  trust,  the  due  regard  for  touth  and  charity  to- 
wards all  mankind ;  and  into  whose  hands  that  instrument 
of  Satan's  emissaries  may  fall,  before  you  believe  one  syl- 
lable it  contains,  attentively  to  peruse  the  following /ar^5, 
which  are  known  to  all  men  of  learning,  of  every  persua* 
sion,  and  in  every  country,  and  which  you  will  find,  by  ma- 
ture investigation,  to  serve  as  a  sufficient  key  to  discover 
the  wicked  falsehoods,  circulated  by  the  enemies  of  truth, 
in  the  work  called,  'The  Disclosures  of  Maria  Monk,' 
but  which,  in  consequence  of  the  total  absence  of  truth 
from  the  things  therein  contained,  I  have  termed,  (and  I 
think  justly  on  that  account,)  the  devil's  prayer-book.    I 
beseech  you  to  give  my  statements  a  fair,  but  impartial 
trial,  weigh  correctly  the  arguments  opposed  to  them,  ac- 
cording to  your  judgment — do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be 
gulled  by  the  empty  or  unmeaning  phraseology  of  some  ot 
Vour  bloated,  though  temperate,  preachers.    All  I  ask  for 
ihe  teit  of  the  following  statement,  is  simply  and  solely  the 
exercise  of  your  common  sense,  without  equivocation. 

"  1st.  I  distinctly  and  unequivocally  state,  that  the  im- 
pugners  of  the  Catholic  religion  and  its  doctrines,  never 
dared  to  meet  us  in  the  fair  field  of  argument.  Never  yet 
have  they  entered  the  lists  in  an  eristical  encounter,  but  to 
their  cost.  Why  so  7  because  we  have  reason,  religion, 
and  the  impenetrable  shield  of  true  syllogistic  argumenta- 
tion in  our  favour.  Witness,  in  support  of  the  assertion, 
the  stupid  and  besotted  crew,  (pardon  me  for  this  expres- 
sion, and  find  a  proper  term  yourselves,  for  the  politico- 


.:  I 


•      '•il 


,i  , 


■:|lr 


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!  !P 


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t  • 

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i          ! 

228 


APPENDIX. 


Theological  Charlatans  of  England,)  who,  not  daring  to 
encounter  the  Catholic  Hierarchy  of  Ireland,  in  an  hon- 
ourable religious  disputation,  are  forced  to  drag  to  iheir 
assistance  those  very  apostates  from  Catholicity  who  were 
considered  by  their  superiors  unworthy  of  the  situation 
they  attempted  to  hold  in  that  Church  ;  for  the  purpose  of 
propping  up  the  staggering  and  debauched  harlot,  whoso 
grave  they  are  now  preparing.  Only  remark  how  they  arc 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  exploded  scholasiic  opin- 
ions of  Peter  Dens,  by  way  of  showing  the  intolerance  of 
the  Catholics,  who  repudiate  the  doctrine  of  religious  in- 
tolerance. Maryland,  Bavaria,  and  the  Cantons  of  Swit- 
zerland, prove  the  contrary  by  their  universal  religious 
toleration.  Now  I  could  meniio'^',  if  I  thought  I  had  space 
enough  on  this  sheef,  numbers  of  Protestant  divines,  who, 
in  their  writings,  have  strongly  incidcated  the  absurd  doc- 
trines of  ruling  our  consciences  by  the  authority  of  the 
Civil  Magistrates.  See  then,  how  strange  it  is,  that  they 
seek  to  condemn  us  for  doctrines  which  we  abhor,  and 
which  they  practise,  even  to  this  day.  Mark  that  for  an 
argument  against  our  doctrines. 

*'2dly.  I  assert,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  persecu- 
tions, all  the  falsehood  and  defamation  daily  exercised 
against  the  Catholics  and  their  religion,  they  are  at  this  mo- 
ment the  only  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  who  main- 
tain amongst  them  the  unity  of  the  true  faith,  and  the  reg- 
ular succession  in  the  Ministry,  from  Christ  and  his  Apos- 
tles. 

"3dly.  I  assert,  that  the  late  scandalous  production 
against  the  Cntholic  Clergy  of  Montreal  and  the  Catholic 
institutions  there,  is  a  tissue  of  false,  foul,  designing,  and 
scandalous  misrepresentation.  Isi,  Because  upon  strict 
examination  into  all  its  bearings,  i^  has  been  so  proved 
upon  the  solemn  oaths  of  a  magistrate  and  others  concern- 
ed. 2dly.  Because  it  is  no  wn.y  consonant  to  reason  or 
common  sense  to  say,  that  those  living  at  a  considerable 
distance,  and  avowedly  hostile  to  the  Catholics  and  their 


■'«■" 


'f 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  KroRK. 


229 


religion,  should  feel  so  interested  in  such  a  matter  as  the 
Catholics  themselves,  ivho  are  vitally  concerned,  and  who 
had  every  facility  of  discovering  any  impropriety;  who 
are  zealous  of  the  purity  of  their  religion  and  its  Minis- 
ters. 3dly.  Because  the  loud  cry  of  all  the  inhabitants  of 
every  denomination,  from  the  well-known  integrity,  the  ex- 
traordinary piety,  the  singular  charity  and  devotedness  of 
the  Catholic  Clergy,  came  in  peals  of  just  wrath  and  well- 
merited  indignation  on  the  heads  of  the  degenerate  mon- 
sters who  basely,  but  ineffectually,  attempted  to  murder 
the  unsullied  fame  of  those  whom  they  deservedly  held, 
and  will  hold,  in  the  highest  estimation. 

"  T.  B,  McMahon,  Mi^nonary.** 

Now  this  letter  alludes  to  testimony  legally  given, 
as  substantiating  the  charges  against  me.  What 
testimony  is  intended?  Any  new  testimony?  If 
so,  where,  and  what  is  it  ?  I  have  never  heard  of 
any,  of  any  description,  except  what  I  have  insert- 
ed on  the  preceding  pages,  unless  I  except  the  vio- 
lent, unsupported,  and  inconsistent  assertions  in 
newspapers,  before  alluded  to.  Has  any  testimony, 
legally  given,  been  produced,  which  neither  the 
Catholic  Diary,  nor  any  other  Cath^'iC  paper,  has 
either  inserted  or  alluded  to  ?  No.  The  Mission- 
ary, McMahon,  must  refer  to  the  Montreal  affidavits ; 
and  since  he  has  expressed  his  opinion  in  relation 
to  their  credibility  and  weight,  I  request  my  read- 
ers to  form  their  own  opinions,  as  I  have  put  the 
means  in  their  power. 

It  may,  perhaps,  appear  to  some,  an  act  display- 
ing uncommon  *'  concern"  in  my  affairs,  or  those  of 
the  Convent,  for  Father  McMahon  to  take  the  pains 
20 


{ ■ 


'.' 


■M- 1 


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ill  ! 


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f:!' 


} 


I*   f  H' ' 


I! 

If 


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1 


!  « 


I 


i 


1230 


APPENDIX. 


to  write  on  the  subject  from  Canada.  I  know  more 
of  him  and  his  concerns  than  the  public  do ;  and  1 
am  glad  that  ray  book  has  reached  him.  Happy 
would  it  have  been  for  him,  if  he  could  prove  that 
he  did  not  leave  Sherbrooke  from  the  day  when  I 
took  the  Black  veil,  until  the  day  when  I  cast  it 
off.  There  are  many  able  to  bear  witness  against 
him  in  that  institution,  (if  they  have  not  been  re- 
moved,) and  one  out  of  it,  who  could  easily  silence 
him,  by  disclosures  that  he  has  too  much  reason  to 
apprehend. 

But  to  return — I  assure  my  readers,  then,  that 
this  book  contains  all  the  testimony  that  has  been 
brought  against  me,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain. 

The  extensive  publication  of  the  Montreal  affi- 
davits, (for  they  appeared  in  the  Roman  Catholit 
papers,  and  were  circulated,  it  is  believed,  very 
generally  through  New  York,)  for  a  time,  almost 
entirely  closed  the  newspapers  against  me.  My 
publishers  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  edi 
tor  of  the  N.  Y.  Catholic  Diary,  and  waited  on 
him  with  a  third  person,  to  request  its  publication 
in  his  next  paper,  but  he  declined.  He  expressed 
doubts  of  my  being  in  the  city,  and  intimated  a  wish 
to  see  me;  but  when  they  acceded,  he  refused  to 
meet  me  anywhere  but  at  his  own  residence ! 

The  same  letter  was  then  offered  to  other  ed 
itors  in  New  York,  and  even  sent  to  Philadelphia 
for  publication,  but  refused.  It  appeared  on  the 
29th  of  February,  in  the  Brooklyn  Star,  thus  in- 
troduced : — 


now  more 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


231 


( Extracts  from  the  Long  Island  Star  of  Feb.  29iA.) 

"  Since  the  publication  of  our  last  paper,  we  have  receiv- 
ed a  communication  from  Messrs.  Howe  and  Bates,  of  New 
York,  the  publishers  of  Miss  Monk's  '  Awful  Disclosures.' 
It  appears  that  some  influences  have  been  at  work  in  that 
city,  adverse  to  the  free  examination  of  the  case  between 
her  and  the  priests  of  Canada ;  for  thus  far  the  newspapers 
have  been  almost  entirely  closed  against  every  thing  in  her 
defence,  while  most  of  them  have  published  false  charges 
against  the  book,  some  of  a  preposterous  nature,  the  con- 
tradiction of  which  is  plain  and  palpable.  *  *  * 

"  Returning  to  New  York,  she  then  first  resolved  to  pub- 
lish her  story,  which  she  Las  recently  done,  after  several 
intelligent  and  disinterested  persons  had  satisfied  them- 
selves by  much  examination  that  it  was  true. 

"  When  it  became  known  in  Canada  that  this  was  her 
intention,  six  affidavits  were  published  in  some  of  the  news- 
pap-rs,  intended  to  destroy  confidence  in  her  character ; 
but  these  were  found  very  contradictory  in  several  im- 
portant points,  and  in  others  to  afford  undesigned  confirm- 
ation of  statements  before  made  by  her. 

"  On  the  publication  of  her  book,  the  New  York  Catholic 
Diary,  the  Truth  Teller,  the  Green  Banner,  and  other  pa- 
pers, made  virulent  attacks  upon  it,  and  one  of  them  pro- 
posed that  the  publishers  should  be  '  Lynched.'  An  anony- 
mous handbill  was  also  circulated  in  New  York,  declaring 
the  work  a  malignant  libel,  got  up  by  Protestant  clergymen, 
and  promising  an  ample  refutation  of  it  in  a  few  days. 
This  was  re-published  in  the  Catholic  Diary,  &c.  with  the 
old  Montreal  affidavits,  which  latter  ^ere  also  distributed 
through  New  York  and  Brooklyn ;  and  on  the  authority  of 
these,  several  Protestant  newspapers  denounced  the  work 
as  false  and  malicious. 

"  Another  charge,  quite  inconsistent  with  the  rest,  was 
also  made,  not  only  by  the  leading  Roman  Catholic  papers, 
but  by  several  others  at  second  hand—viz  that  it  was  a 
mere  copy  of  an  old  European  work.  This  has  been  prompt* 


;    i      'i     !• 


■'Ill 


JU'MI) 


!  i 


!<'  H 


■m 


■im  ■■ 


i . ' 


,;  \ 


I'': 


\'<'  ,';* 


i 


■li 


fl 


1 

I, 


m  I! 


h  1 


"  r 


^32 


APPENDIX. 


]y  denied  by  the  publishers,  ^ith  the  offer  of  $100  reward 
for  any  book  at  all  resembling  it. 

"  Yet,  such  is  the  resolution  of  some,  and  the  unbelief  of 
others,  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  publishers  to  obrain  in- 
sertion for  their  replies  in  the  New  York  papers  generally, 
and  they  have  been  unsuccessful  i^^  an  attempt  in  Philadel« 
phia. 

"  This  is  the  ground  on  which  the  following  article  has 
been  offered  to  us,  for  publication  in  the  Star.  It  was  of- 
fered to  Mr.  Schneller,  a  Roman  priest,  and  editor  of  the 
Catholic  Diary,  for  insertion  in  his  paper  of  Saturday  be- 
fore  last,  but  refused,  although  written  expressly  as  an  an- 
swer to  the  affidavits  and  charges  his  previous  number  had 
contained.  This  article  has  also  been  refused  insertion  in 
a  Philadelphia  daily  paper,  after  it  had  been  satisfactorily 
ascertained  that  there  was  no  hope  of  gaining  admission 
for  it  into  any  of  the  New  York  papers. 

"  It  should  be  stated,  in  addition,  that  the  authoress  of 
the  book,  Maria  Monk,  is  in  New  York,  and  stands  ready 
to  answer  any  questions,  and  submit  to  any  inquiries,  put 
in  a  proper  manner,  and  desires  nothing  so  strongly  as  an 
opportunity  to  prove  before  a  court  the  truth  of  her  story. 
She  has  already  found  several  persons  of  respectability  who 
have  confirmed  some  of  the  facts,  important  and  likely  to 
be  attested  by  concurrent  evidence ;  and  much  further  tes- 
timony in  her  favour  may  be  soon  expected  by  the  public. 

"  With  these  facts  before  them,  intelligent  readers  will 
judge  for  themselves.  She  asks  for  investigation,  while  her 
opponents  deny  her  every  opportunity  to  meet  the  charges 
made  against  her.  Mr.  Schneller,  after  expressing  a  wish 
to  see  her,  to  the  publishers,  refused  to  meet  her  anywhere, 
unless  in  his  own  house;  while  Mr.  Cluarter,  another  Ro- 
man Catholic  priest,  called  to  see  her,  at  ten  o'clock,  one 
night,  accompanied  by  another  man,  without  giving  thtir 
names,  and  under  the  false  pretence  of  being  bearers  of  a 
letter  from  her  brother  in  Montreal." 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


283 


{Reply  to  the  Montreal  Affidavits^  refused  publication  by  (hM 

Catholic  Diary,  <^c.) 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Catholic  Diary. 

"  Sir— In  your  paper  of  last  Saturday,  you  published  six 
affidavits  from  Montreal,  which  are  calculated,  so  far  as 
ihey  are  believed,  to  discredit  the  truth  of  the '  Awful  Dis- 
closures'  of  Maria  Monk,  a  book  of  which  we  are  the  pub- 
lishers. We  address  the  following  remarks  to  you,  with  a 
request  that  you  will  publish  them  in  the  '  Catholic  Diary,' 
that  your  readers  may  have  the  means  of  judging  for  them- 
selves. If  the  case  be  so  plain  a  one  as  you  seem  to  sup- 
pose,  they  will  doubtless  perceive  more  plainly  the  bearing 
and  force  of  the  evidence  you  present,  when  they  see  it 
brought  into  collision  with  that  which  it  is  designed  to  over- 
throw. 

"  First,  We  have  to  remark,  that  the  affidavits  which  you 
publish  might  have  been  furnished  you  in  this  city,  without 
the  trouble  or  delay  of  sending  to  Montreal.  They  have 
been  here  two  or  three  months,  and  were  carefully  exam- 
ined about  that  period  by  persons  who  were  acquainted  with 
Maria  Monk's  story,  and  were  desirous  of  ascertaining  the 
truth.  Afler  obtaining  further  evidence  from  Canada, 
these  affidavits  were  decided  to  contain  strong  confirmation 
of  various  points  in  her  story,  then  already  written  down, 
only  part  of  which  has  yet  been  published. 

"  Second,  It  is  remarkable  that  of  these  six  affidavits,  the 
first  is  that  of  Dr.  Robertson,  and  all  the  rest  are  signed  by 
him  as  Justice  of  the  Peace ;  and  a  Justice,  too,  who  had 
previously  refused  to  take  the  affidavit  of  Maria  Monk. 
Yet,  unknown  to  himself,  this  same  Dr.  R.,  by  incidents  of 
his  own  stating,  corroborates  some  very  important  parts  of 
Miss  Monk's  statements.  He  says,  indeed,  that  he  has  as- 
certained where  she  was  a  part  of  the  time  when  she  pro- 
fesses to  have  been  in  the  Nunnery.  But  his  evidence  on 
this  point  is  merely  hearsay ^  and  he  does  not  even  favour 
us  with  that, 
f*  Third,  One  of  the  affidavits  is  that  of  Miss  Monk's 

20* 


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234 


APPENDIX. 


mother,  who  claims  lo  be  a  Protestant,  and  yet  declares, 
that  she  proposed  to  send  her  infant  grandchild  to  a  Nun< 
nery  1  She  says  her  daughter  has  long  been  subject  to  fits 
of  insanity,  (of  which,  however,  we  can  say,  no  traces  are 
discoverable  in  New  York,)  and  has  never  been  in  a  Nun- 
nery since  she  was  at  school  in  one,  while  quite  a  child. 
She  however  does  not  mention  where  her  daughter  has 
spent  any  part  of  the  most  important  years  of  her  life.  A 
large  part  of  her  affidavit,  as  well  as  several  others,  is  taken 
up  with  matter  relating  to  one  of  the  persons  who  accom* 
panied  Miss  M.  to  Montreal  last  summer,  and  has  no  claim 
to  be  regarded  as  direct  evidence  for  or  against  the  authen- 
ticity of  her  book. 

"  Fourth,  The  affidavit  of  Nancy  McGan  is  signed  with 
a  cross,  as  by  one  ignorant  of  writing ;  and  she  states  that 
she  visited  a  house  of  ill  fame,  (to  all  appearance  alone,) 
although,  as  she  asserts,  to  bring  away  Miss  M.  Her  tes- 
timony, therefore,  does  not  present  the  strongest  claims  to 
our  confidence.  Besides,  it  is  known  that  she  has  shown 
great  hostility  to  Miss  Monk,  in  the  streets  of  Montreal :  and 
she  would  not,  it  is  believed,  have  had  much  influence  on 
an  intelligent  court  or  jury,  against  Miss  M.,  in  that  city, 
if  the  latter  had  been  fortunate*  enough  to  obtain  the  legal 
investigation  into  her  charges,  which,  as  Dr.  R.  mentions, 
she  declared  to  be  the  express  object  of  her  visit  to  that 
city,  in  the  last  summer,  and  in  which  she  failed,  after 
nearly  a  month's  exertion. 

f  Fifth,  The  affidavit  of  Mr.  Goodenough  is  contradicted 
in  one  point  by  the  letter  of  Mr.  Richey,  a  Wesleyan  min- 
ister, which  you  insert,  and  contains  little  else  of  any  im- 
portance to  this  or  any  other  case.    ♦    •    *    * 

"  Sixth,  You  copied  in  a  conspicuous  manner,  from  a 
Catholic  paper  in  Boston,  a  charge  against  the  book,  the 
groundlessness  of  which  has  been  exposed  in  some  of  the 
Ne«r  York  papers,  viz.  that  large  parts  of  it  were,  'word 
for  word  and  letter  for  letter,*  (names  only  altered,)  copied 
from  a  book  published  some  years  ago  in  Europe,  under  the 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


235 


title  of '  The  QtUes  of  Hell  opened.'  We  have  not  seen  in 
your  paper  any  correction  of  this  aspersion,  although  the 
assertion  of  it  has  placed  you  in  a  dilemma ;  for,  if  such 
were  the  fact,  as  you  asserted,  the  Montreal  affidavits  would 
have  little  application  to  the  case.  Besides,  that  book, 
having  proceeded  from  Catholics,  and  relating,  as  was  in- 
timated, to  scenes  in  European  Convents,  divulged  by  wit- 
nesses not  chargeable  with  prejudices  against  them,  is  to  be 
taken  for  true  with  other  names;  and  therefore  the  charge 
of  extravagance  or  improbability,  which  is  so  much  urged 
against  our  book,  is  entirely  nullified,  without  appealing  to 
other  sources  of  information,  which  cannot  be  objected  to. 

"  But  before  closing,  allow  us  to  remark,  that  you,  who 
claim  so  strongly  the  confidence  of  your  readers  in  the  tes- 
timony of  witnesses  in  Montreal,  who  speak  only  of  things 
collateral  to  the  main  subject  in  question,  must  be  prepared 
to  lay  extraordinary  weight  on  evidence  of  a  higher  nature, 
and  must  realize  something  of  the  anxiety  with  which  we, 
and  the  American  public  generally,  we  believe,  stand  ready 
to  receive  the  evidence  to  be  displayed  to  the  eye  and  to  the 
touch,  either  for  or  against  the  solemn  declarations  of  Miss 
Monk,  whenever  the  great  test  shall  be  applied  to  which 
she  appeals,  viz.  the  opening  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery 
at  Montreal.  Then,  sir,  and  not  till  then,  will  the  great 
question  be  settled, — Is  our  book  true  or  false  1  Affidavits 
may  possibly  be  multiplied,  although  you  say,  'Here,  then, 
is  the  whole !'  Dr.  Robertson  may  be  again  called  to  testify, 
or  receive  testimony  as  Justice  of  the  Peace, — but  the  ques- 
tion is  notf  what  do  people  believe  or  think  outside  of  the 
Converd  ?  but, '  what  has  been  done  in  it  ?' 

"  By  the  issue  of  this  investigation,  Miss  Monk  declares 
she  is  ready  to  stand  or  fall. 

"  You  speak,  sir,  of  the  '  backwardness*  of  persons  to  ap- 
pear in  defence  of  Miss  Monk's  book.  We  promise  to  ap- 
pear as  often  on  the  subject  as  you  are  willing  to  publish 
our  communicai  ions.  In  one  of  the  paragraphs  you  publish, 
our  book  is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  evils  arising  from  a 


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236 


APPENDIX. 


*free  press.'  We  think,  sir,  that '  a  free  press*  is  exposed  to 
less  condemnation  through  the  '  Awful  Disclosures,'  than 
the  'close  Nunneries '  which  it  is  designed  to  expose. 

"  Respectfully,  &c. 
"  New  York,  Feb.  22d,  1836." 

The  above  was  afterward  copied  in  other  papers. 
The  following  certificate  appeared  in  the  Protestant 
Vindicator,  and  other  papers,  in  March,  1836,  in 
troducing  the  two  first  witnesses. 

"  T%e  truth  of  Maria  Monkh  *  AwfvX  Disclosures'  amply 

certified. 

"  We  the  subscribers,  having  an  acquaintance  with  Miss 
Maria  Monk,  and  having  considered  the  evidence  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  which  has  been  collected  in  relation  to  her 
case,  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  our  belief  in  the  truth 
of  the  statements  she  makes  in  her  book  recently  published 
in  New  York,  entitled  *  Awful  Disclosures,'  &c. 

"  We  at  the  same  time  declare  that  the  assertion,  origi- 
nally  made  in  the  Roman  Catholic  newspapers  of  Boston, 
that  the  book  was  copied  from  a  work  entitled  '  The  Gates 
of  Hell  opened,'  is  wholly  destitute  of  foundation ;  it  being 
entirely  new,  and  not  copied  from  any  thing  whatsoever. 

"  And  we  further  declare,  that  no  evidence  has  yet  been 
produced  which  discredits  the  statements  of  Miss  Monk: 
while,  on  the  contrary,  her  story  has  received^  and  continues 
to  receive  ^  confirmation  from  various  sources. 

"  During  the  last  week,  two  important  witnesses  sponta- 
neously appeared,  and  offered  to  give  public  testimony  in 
her  favour.  From  them  the  following  declarations  have 
been  received.  The  first  is  an  affidavit  given  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Miller,  now  a  resident  of  this  city.  The  second  is  a 
statement  received  from  a  young  married  woman,  who, 
with  her  husband,  also  resides  here.  In  the  clear  and  re- 
peated statements  made  by  these  two  witnesses,  we  plac« 


RECEPTION  OF  THF  WORK. 


237 


entire  reliance;  who  are  ready  to  furnish  satisfaction  to 
anir  persons  making  reasonable  inquiries  on  the  subject. 

"  W.  C.  Brownleb. 

"  John  J.  Slocum. 

"  Andrew  Bruce. 

"  D.  Fanshaw, 

"  Amos  Belden. 

*'  David  Wesson. 

"  Thomas  HooAN." 

(affidavit  op  WILLIAM  MILLER.) 
*  Citt/  and  County  of  New-  York,  ss. 

"  William  Miller  being  duly  sworn,  doth  say,— I  knew 
Maria  Monk  when  she  was  quite  a  child,  and  was  acquaint- 
ed with  all  her  father's  family.  My  father,  Mr.  Adam 
Miller,  kept  the  government  school  at  St.  John's,  Lower 
Canada,  for  some  years.  Captain  Wm.  Monk,  Maria's 
father,  lived  in  the  garrison,  a  short  distance  from  the  vil- 
lage, and  she  attended  the  school  with  me  for  some  months, 
probably  as  much  as  a  year.  Her  four  brothers  also  at- 
tended with  us.  Our  families  were  on  terms  of  intimacy, 
as  my  father  had  a  high  regard  for  Captain  Monk ;  but  the 
temper  of  his  wife  was  such,  even  at  that  time,  as  to  cause 
much  trouble.  Capt.  Monk  died  very  suddenly,  as  was  re- 
ported, in  consequence  of  being  poisoned.  Mrs.  Monk  was 
then  keeper  of  the  Government  House  in  Montreal,  and 
received  a  pension,  which  privilege  she  has  since  enjoyed. 
In  the  summer  of  1832,  I  left  Canada,  and  came  to  this 
city.  In  about  a  year  afterward  I  visited  Montreal,  and 
on  the  day  when  the  Governor  reviewed  the  troops,  I  be- 
lieve about  the  end  of  August,  I  called  at  the  Government 
House,  where  I  saw  Mrs.  Monk  and  several  of  the  family. 
I  inquired  where  Maria  was,  and  she  told  me  that  she  was 
in  the  nunnery.  This  fact  I  well  remember,  because  the 
information  gave  me  great  pain,  as  I  had  unfavourable 
opinions  of  the  nunneries.  On  reading  the  *  Awful  Dis- 
closures,' I  at  once  knew  she  was  the  eloped  nun,  but  was 
unable  to  find  her  until  a  few  days  since,  when  we  recog- 


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288 


APPENDIX. 


niscd  each  other  immediately.  I  give  with  pleasure  my 
testimony  in  her  favour,  as  she  is  among  strangers,  and 
exertions  have  been  made  against  her.  I  declare  my  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  many  facts  stated  in  her  book,  and  my 
full  belief  in  the  truth  of  her  story,  which,  shocking  as  it 
is,  cannot  appear  incredible  to  those  persons  acquainted 
with  Canada.  "  William  Miller. 

"  Sworn  before  me,  this  3d  day  of  March,  1836. 

"  Benjamin  D.  K.  Craio, 
"  Commissioner  of  Deeds,  &c." 

Prom  the  Proteatant  Vindicator  of  March  9. 
^'  The  following  statement  has  been  furnished  by  the  fe- 
male witness  above-mentioned ;  the  name  being  resenred 
only  from  delicacy  to  a  lady's  feelings." 

(testimony  of  another  old  schoolmate.) 

"  I  was  born  at  Montreal,  and  resided  there  until  wiihin 
a  few  months,  and  where  my  friends  still  remain.  I  was 
educated  among  the  Catholics,  and  have  never  separated 
myself  from  them. 

"  I  knew  Maria  Monk  when  quite  a  child.  "We  went  to 
school  together  for  about  a  year,  as  near  as  I  can  remem- 
ber, to  Mr.  Workman,  Sacrament-street,  in  Montreal.  She 
is  about  one  month  younger  than  myself.  We  left  that 
school  at  the  same  time,  and  entered  the  Congregational 
Nunnery  nearly  together.  I  could  mention  many  things 
which  I  witnessed  there,  calculated  to  confirm  some  of  her 
accounts. 

"  I  knew  of  the  elopement  of  a  priest  named  Leclere, 
who  was  a  confessor,  with  a  nun  sent  from  the  Congrega- 
iional  Nunnery  to  teach  in  a  village.  They  were  brought 
back,  after  which  she  gave  birth  to  an  infant,  and  was 
again  employed  as  a  teacher. 

"Children  were  often  punished  in  the  Congregational 
Nunnery,  by  being  made  to  stand  with  arms  extended,  to 
imitate  Christ's  posture  on  the  cross ;  and  when  we  found 
vermin  in  our  soup,  as  was  often  the  case,  we  were  ex* 


RECEPTION  OP  THE  WORK. 


239 


iorted  to  overcome  our  repugnance  to  it,  because  Christ 
died  for  us.  I  have  seen  such  belts  as  are  mentioned  in  the 
'Awful  Disclosures,'  as  well  as  gags ;  but  never  saw  them 
applied. 

"Maria  Monk  left  the  Congregational  Nunnery  before  I 
dil,  and  became  a  novice  in  the  Hotel  Dieu.  I  remember 
her  entrance  into  the  latter  very  well,  for  we  had  a  ^j<mr 
de  conge,'  holiday,  on  that  occasion. 

"  Some  short  time  subsequently,  after  school  hours  one 
afternoon,  while  in  the  school-room  in  the  second  story  ot 
the  Congregational  Nunnery,  several  of  the  girls  standing 
near  a  window  exclaimed,  *  There  is  Maria  Monk.'  I 
sprang  to  the  window  to  look,  and  saw  her  with  several 
other  novices,  in  the  yard  of  the  Hotel  Dieu,  among  the 
plants  which  grew  there.  She  did  not  appear  to  notice  us, 
Dut  I  perfectly  recognised  her. 

"  I  have  frequently  visited  the  public  hospital  of  the  Ho- 
tel Dieu.  It  is  the  custom  there  for  some  of  the  nuns  and 
novices  to  enter  at  three  o'clock,  P.  M.,  in  procession  with 
food  and  delicacies  for  the  sick.  I  recollect  some  of  my 
visits  there  by  circumstances  attending  them.  For  in- 
stance, I  was  much  struck,  on  several  occasions,  by  the 
beauty  of  a  young  novice,  whose  slender,  graceful  form, 
and  interesting  appearance,  distinguished  her  from  the 
rest.  On  inquiry,  I  learnt  that  her  name  was  Dubois,  or 
something  like  it,  and  the  daughter  of  an  old  man  who  had 
removed  from  the  country,  and  lived  near  the  Place 
d'Armes.  She  was  so  generally  admired  for  her  beauty, 
that  she  was  called  *  la  belle  St.  Francois'— St.  Francis  be- 
ing the  saint's  name  she  had  assumed  in  the  convent. 

*'  I  frequently  went  to  the  hospital  to  see  two  of  my  par- 
ticular friends  who  were  novices :  and  subsequently  to  visit 
one  who  had  a  sore  throat,  and  was  sick  for  some  weeks.  I 
saw  Maria  Monk  there  many  times,  in  the  dress  of  a  ncv- 
ice,  employed  in  different  ways ;  but  we  were  never  allow- 
ed to  speak  to  each  other. 
"  Towards  the  close  of  the  winter  of  18334, 1  visited  the 


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1240 


APPENDIX. 


hospital  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  very  frequently,  to  see  Misa 
Bourke,  a  friend  of  mine,  although  I  was  not  permitted  to 
speak  with  her.  While  there  one  day,  at  the  hour  oi 
*  conge,*  or  *  collation,*  which,  as  I  before  stated,  was  at  three 
P.  M.,  a  procession  of  nuns  and  novices  entered,  and 
among  the  former  I  saw  Maria  Monk,  with  a  black  veil, 
&c.  She  perceived  and  recognised  me ;  but  put  her  finger 
.  upon  her  lips  in  token  of  silence;  and  knowing  how  rigidly 
ihe  rules  were  enforced,  I  did  not  speak. 

"  A  short  time  afterward,  I  saw  her  again  in  the  same 
place,  and  under  similar  circumstances. 

"  I  can  fix  the  year  when  this  occurred,  because  I  recol- 
lect that  the  nuns  in  the  hospital  stared  at  a  red  dress  I 
wore  that  season ;  and  I  am  certain  about  the  time  of  year, 
because  I  left  my  galo-shoes  at  the  door  before  I  went  in. 

**  The  improper  conduct  of  a  priest  was  the  cause  of  my 
leaving  the  Congregational  Nunnery :  for  my  brother  saw 
him  kissing  a  female  one  day  while  he  was  on  a  visit  to 
me,  and  exclaimed—'  O  mon  Dieu !  what  a  place  you  are 
in ! — If  father  does  not  take  you  out  of  it,  I  will,  if  I  have 
to  tear  you  away.' 

"  After  the  last  sight  I  had  of  Maria  Monk  in  the  hospi- 
tal, I  never  saw  nor  heard  of  her,  until  after  I  had  been  for 
some  time  an  inhabitant  of  New  York.    I  then  saw  an  ex- 
tract from  *  Awful  Disclosures,'  published  in  a  newspaper, 
when  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  that  she  was  the  authoress, 
and  again  at  liberty.    I  was  unable  for  several  weeks  to 
find  her  residence,  but  at  length  visited  the  house  when  she 
was  absent.    Seeing  an  infant  among  a  number  of  persons 
who  were  strangers  to  me,  as  those  present  will  testify,  I  de- 
clared that  it  must  be  the  child  mentioned  in  her  book,  from 
the  striking  resemblanoe  it  bears  to  Father  Phelan,  whom  I 
well  know.   This  declaration  has  also  been  made  by  others. 
"When  Maria  Monk  entered,  she  passed  across  the 
room,  without  turning  towards  me;  but  I  recognised  her 
by  her  gait,  and  when  she  saw  me  she  knew  me  at  once. 
I  have  since  spent  many  hours  with  her,  and  am  entirely 


RECFf  TION  OF  THE  WORK. 


241 


in  the  same 


convinced  of  the  truth  of  her  story,  especially  as  I  knew 
many  things  before  which  tend  to  confirm  the  statements 
which  she  makes." 

["  It  is  superfluous  to  add  any  thing  to  the  above  testimo- 
ny Let  the  Roman  priests  of  Montreal  open  the  Hotel 
Dieu  Nunnery  for  our  inspection,  and  thus  confute  Maria 
Monk :  or,  Mr.  Conroy  is  again  challenged  to  institute  a 
criminal  process  against  her,  or  a  civil  suit  against  the 
publishers  of  her  volume. — They  dare  not  place  the  eloped 
nun  or  her  booksellers  in  that '  Inquisition ;'  because  they 
know  that  it  would  only  be  *  putting  themselves  to  the  tor^ 
\\ireV"—Ed.Prot.  Vind.] 


"Hi! 


[From  the  Protestant  Vindicator  of  March  16th.] 
"We  recommend  the  following  communication  to  all 
persons  who  doubt  the  wickedness  of  Nunneries.  The 
young  gentleman  who  sent  us  the  letter  is  now  in  this  city 
and  we  have  heard  the  same  statements  from  other  wit* 
nesses.  That  subterraneous  passage  from  the  Seminary  to 
the  Nunneries,  we  ourselves  have  seen,  and  close  by  the 
spot  designated  by  our  correspondent : — 

(statement  op  j.  m.) 

i*  Underground  passage  from  the  Jesuit  Seminary  to  the 
Hotel  Dieu  Nunn£ry^  Montreal. 

"I  have  been  informed  that  you  are  endeavouring  to 
obtain  facts  and  other  incidental  circumstances,  relative  to 
the  Black  Nunnery  in  Montreal,  and  the  disclosures  con- 
cerning it,  made  by  Maria  Monk,  in  which  are  many  hard 
things,  but  hard  as  they  are,  they  are  not  indigestible  by  us 
Canadians;  we  believe  that  she  has  told  but  a  small  part  of 
what  she  must  know,  if  she  was  but  half  the  time  there 
which  she  says  she  was.  Maria  Monk  has  mentioned  in 
her  book  something  about  the  underground  passage  which 
leads  from  the  Black  Nunnery  to  other  places  in  Montreal. 
That  fact  I  know  by  ocular  demonstration,  and  which 
nine  tenths  of  the  Canadians  also  will  not  deny,  for  it  has 
been  opened  several  times  by  the  labourers,  who  have 
21 


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242 


APPENDIX. 


been  digging  for  the  purpose  of  laying  pipes  to  conduct  gas 
and  water.    While  preparing  a  place  for  the  latter  I  saw 
one  of  those  passages ;  the  earth  being  removed  by  the  la- 
bourers, they  struck  upon  the  top  of  the  passage,  and  curi^ 
osity  led  them  to  see  what  was  beneath,  for  it  sounded  as 
though  there  was  i.  hollow.    They  accordingly  removed 
the  large  flat  stones  which  formed  the  top  of  the  passage. 
Many  persons  were  looking  on  at  the  time,  and  several  ul 
them  went  down  into  it ;  when  they  returned  after  a  few 
minutes,  they  stated  that  they  went  but  a  short  distance,  be- 
fore they  came  to  an  intersection  of  passages,  and  were 
afraid  to  proceed  further.    Shortly  after,  several  priests 
were  on  the  spot,  and  prevented  the  people  from  further 
examining  it;  ard  had  the  place  shut  up  immediately, 
while  they  stood  by  and  guarded  it  until  it  was  all  done. 
The  appearance  of  that  part  of  the  passage  was  the  same 
as  I  saw  while  they  were  laying  the  water  pipes.    The  floor 
of  it  in  both  parts  where  I  saw  it  was  clean  to  appearance, 
with  the  exception  of  a  little  dirt  that  fell  in  on  opening 
them,  and  of  stone  flagging.    I  have  heard  much  about 
these  underground  passages  in  Montreal,  in  which  place  I 
have  spent  the  most  of  my  days.    I  give  you  my  name  and 
residence:  and  if  you  should  be  called  upon  from  any 
quarter  for  the  truth  of  this  statement,  I  am  ready  to  attest 
it  upon  oath ;  and  there  are  others  in  this  city  who  have 
witnessed  the  same  things.    The  places  where  those  open- 
ings were  made  in  the  underground  passages  were  in  St. 
Joseph  street  for  the  water  pipes ;  and  for  the  gas  pipes  in 
Notre-Dame  street,  near  Sacrament  street,  at  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  Seminary.  W.  M." 


About  the  close  of  February  last,  a  note  was  sent 
me  from  a  person  signing  himself  the  man  who 
took  me  to  the  Almshouse.  Soon  after  I  had  an 
interview  with  Mr..Hilliker,  whom  I  recognised  as 
my  first  protector  in  New- York,  and  to  whom  I 


t     V    lA 


BS,  and  were 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


243 


owe  much — ^indeed,  as  I  think,  my  life.     He  kindly 
offered  lo  give  me  his  testimony,  which  follows : — 

From  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 
(affidavit  op  JOHN  HILLIKER.) 

••  City  and  County  of  > 
New  York,  as.       5 

"  John  Hilliker,  being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say- 
that  one  day  early  in  the  month  of  May,  1835,  while  shoot- 
ing near  the  Third  Avenue,  opposite  the  three  mile  stone, 
in  company  with  three  friends,  I  saw  a  woman  sitting  in  a 
field  at  a  short  distance,  who  attracted  our  attention.  On 
reaching  her,  we  found  her  sitting  with  her  head  down, 
and  could  not  make  her  return  any  answer  to  our  questions. 
On  raising  her  hat,  we  saw  that  she  was  weeping.  She 
was  dressed  in  an  old  calico  frock,  (I  think  of  a  greenish 
colour,)  with  a  checked  apron,  and  an  old  black  bonnet. 
After  much  delay  and  weeping,  she  began  to  answer  my 
questions,  but  not  until  I  had  got  my  companions  to  leave 
us,  and  assured  her  that  I  was  a  married  man,  and  dis- 
posed  to  befriend  her. 

"  She  then  told  me  that  her  name  was  Maria,  that  she  had 
been  a  nun  in  a  nunnery  in  Montreal,  from  which  she  had 
made  her  escape,  on  account  of  the  treatment  she  had  re- 
ceived from  priests  in  that  institution,  whose  licentious 
conduct  she  strongly  intimated  to  me.  She  mentioned 
some  particulars  concerning  the  Convent  and  her  escape. 
She  spoke  particularly  of  a  small  room  where  she  used  to 
attend,  until  the  physician  entered  to  see  the  sick,  when 
she  accompanied  him  to  write  down  his  prescriptions ;  and 
said  that  she  escaped  through  a  door  which  he  sometimes 
entered.  She  added,  that  she  exchanged  her  dress  after 
leaving  the  nunnery,  and  that  she  came  to  New  York  in 
company  with  a  man,  who  left  her  as  soon  as  the  steam- 
boat arrived.  She  further  stated,  that  she  expected  soon  to 
give  birth  to  a  child,  having  become  pregnant  in  the  Con- 
vent; that  she  had  no  friend,  and  knew  not  where  to  find 


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244 


APPENDIX. 


one ;  that  she  thought  of  destroying  her  life ;  and  wished 
me  to  leave  her — ^saying,  that  if  I  should  hear  of  a  woman 
being  found  drowned  in  the  East  River,  she  earnestly  de- 
sired me  never  to  speak  of  her. 

"  I  asked  if  she  had  had  any  food  that  day,  to  which  she 
answered,  no ;  and  I  gave  her  money  to  get  some  at  the 
grocery  of  Mr.  Cox,  in  the  neighbourhood.  She  left  me, 
but  I  afterward  saw  her  in  the  fields,  going  towards  the  ri- 
ver ;  and  after  much  urgency,  prevailed  upon  her  to  go  to 
a  house  where  I  thought  she  might  be  accommodated,  oflfer- 
ing  to  pay  her  expenses.  Failing  in  this  attempt,  I  per- 
suaded her,  with  much  difficulty,  to  go  to  the  Almshouse ; 
and  there  we  got  her  received,  after  I  had  promised  to  call 
to  see  her,  as  she  said  she  had  something  of  great  conse- 
quence which  she  wished  to  communicate  to  me,  and 
wished  me  to  write  a  letter  to  Montreal. 

"  She  had  every  appearance  of  telling  the  truth ;  so  much 
so,  that  I  have  never  for  a  moment  doubted  the  truth  of  her 
story,  but  told  it  to  many  persons  of  my  acquaintance,  with 
entire  confidence  in  its  truth.  She  seemed  overwhelmed 
with  grief,  and  in  a  very  desperate  state  of  mind.  I  saw 
her  weep  for  two  hours  or  more  without  ceasing;  and  ap- 
peared very  feeble  when  attempting  to  walk,  so  that  two 
of  us  supported  her  by  the  arms.  We  observed  also,  that 
she  always  folded  her  hands  under  her  apron  when  she 
walked,  as  she  has  described  the  nuns  as  doing  in  her 
*  Awful  Disclosures.' 

"I  called  at  the  Almshouse  gate  several  times  and  in- 
quired for  her ;  but  having  forgotten  half  of  her  name,  I 
could  not  make  it  understood  whom  I  wished  to  see,  and 
did  not  see  her  until  the  last  week.  When  I  saw  some  of 
the  first  extracts  from  her  book  in  a  newspaper,  I  was  con- 
fident that  they  were  parts  of  her  story,  and  when  I  read 
the  conclusion  of  the  work,  I  had  not  a  doubt  of  it.  In- 
deed, many  things  in  the  course  of  the  book  I  was  pre- 
pared for  from  what  she  had  told  me. 
"When  I  saw  her,  I  recognised  her  immediately,  al- 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


245 


though  she  did  not  know  me  at  first,  being  in  a  very  differ- 
ent dress.  As  soon  as  she  was  informed  where  she  had 
seen  me,  she  recognised  me.  I  have  not  found  in  the  book 
any  thing  inconsistent  with  what  she  had  stated  to  me  when 
I  first  saw  her. 

"  When  I  first  found  her  in  May,  1835,  she  had  evidently 
sought  concealment.  She  had  a  letter  in  her  hand,  which 
8he  refused  to  let  me  see ;  and  when  she  found  I  was  de- 
termined to  remove  her,  she  tore  it  in  small  pieces,  and 
threw  them  down .  Several  days  after  I  visited  the  spot  again 
and  picked  them  up,  to  learn  something  of  the  contents, 
but  could  find  nothing  intelligible,  except  the  first  part  of 
the  signature,  '  Maria.' 

"  Of  the  truth  of  her  story,  I  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt,  and  I  think  I  never  can  until  the  nunnery  is  opened 
and  examined.  "John  Hilliker. 

"  Sworn  before  me,  this  14th  of  March,  1835. 

"  Peter  Jenkins, 
'^  Commissioner  of  Deeds." 

The  following  challenge  was  published  in  the  N- 
Y.  Protestant  Vindicator  for  six  or  seven  weeks,  in 
March  and  April,  without  a  reply. 

"  Challenge.— The  Roman  Prelate  and  Priests  of  Mon« 
treal^Messrs.  Conroy,  Gtuarter,  and  Schneller,  of  New 
York— Messrs.  Penwick  and  Byrne  of  Boston— Mr. 
Hughes  of  Philadelphia— the  Arch-Prelate  of  Baltimore, 
and  his  subordinate  Priests— and  Cardinal  England  of 
Charleston,  with  all  other  Roman  Priests,  and  every  Nun, 
from  Baffin's  bay  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  are  hereby  chal- 
lenged to  meet  an  investigation  of  the  truth  of  Maria 
Monk's  'Awful  Disclosures,'  before  an  impartial  assem- 
bly, over  which  shall  preside  seven  gentlemen ;  three  to  be 
selected  by  the  Roman  Priests,  three  by  the  Executive 
Conmiittee  of  the  New  York  Protestant  Association,  and 
the  seventh  as  Chairman,  to  be  chosen  by  the  six. 
21* 


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246 


APPENDIX. 


"  An  eligible  place  in  New  York  shall  be  appointed,  and 
the  regulations  for  the  decorum  and  order  of  the  meetings, 
with  all  the  other  arrangements,  shall  be  made  by  the  above 
gentlemen. 

"  ^  All  communications  upon  this  subject  from  any  ot 
the  Roman  Priests  or  Nuns,  either  individually,  or  as  del- 
egates for  their  superiors,  addressed  to  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  New  York  Protestant  Association,  No.  142 
Nassau-street,  New  York,  will  be  promptly  answered." 

(From  the  JV.  Y.  Protestant  Vindicator  of  April  6, 183C.) 
*'  The  CiiALLENaE.— We  have  been  waiting  with  no 
small  degree  of  impatience  to  hear  from  some  of  the  Ro- 
man priests.  But  neither  they,  nor  their  sisters,  the  nuns, 
nor  one  of  their  nephews  or  nieces,  have  yet  ventured  to 
come  out.  Our  longings  meet  only  with  disappointment. 
Did  ever  any  person  hear  of  similar  conduct  on  the  part 
of  men  accused  of  the  highest  crimes,  in  their  deepest 
dye  1  Here  is  a  number  of  Roman  priests,  as  actors,  or 
accessories,  openly  denounced  before  the  world  as  guilty 
of  the  most  outrageous  sins  against  the  sixth  and  seventh 
commandments.  They  are  charged  before  the  world  with 
adultery,  fornication,  and  murder!  The  allegations  are 
distinctly  made,  the  place  is  mentioned,  the  parties  are 
named,  and  the  time  is  designated ;  for  it  is  lasting  as  the 
annual  revolutions  of  the  seasons.  And  what  is  most  ex- 
traordinary,— the  highest  official  authorities  in  Canada  kno70 
that  all  those  statements  are  true,  and  they  sanction  and  con^ 
nive  at  the  iniquity! — The  priests  and  nuns  have  been 
offered,  for  several  months  past,  the  most  easy  and  certain 
mode  to  disprove  the  felonies  imputed  to  them,  and  they 
are  still  as  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  silent  as  the 
death-like  quietude  of  the  convent  cell ;  and  as  retired  as 
if  they  were  in  the  subterraneous  passages  between  the 
nunnery  and  Lartique's  habitation.  Now,  we  contend, 
that  scarcely  a  similar  instance  of  disregard  for  the  opin- 
ions of  mankind,  can  be  found  since  the  Reformation,  at 


RECEPTION  OP  THE  WORK. 


247 


lea-st,  in  a  Protestant  country.    Wha'e  ver  disregard  for  the 
judgment  of  others,  the  Romish  priests  may  have  felt, 
where  the  Inquisition  was  at  their  command,  and  the  civil 
power  was  their  Jackal  and  their  Hyena :  they  have  been 
obliged  to  pay  some  little  regard  to  the  opinion  of  protes- 
tants,  and  to  the  dread  of  exposure.    We  therefore  repeat 
the  solemn  indubitable  truth — that  the  fads  which,  are  sla- 
ted by  Maria  Mo/i'it,  respecting  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  at 
Montreal^  are  true  as  the  existence  of  the  priests  and  nuns, — 
that  the  character,  principles,  and  practices  of  the  Jesuits  and 
nuns  in  Canada,  are  most  accurately  delineated — that  popish 
jtricsls,  and  sisters  of  charity  in  the  United  States,  are  their 
faithful  and  exact  counterparts — that  many  female  schools  in 
the  United  States,  kept  by  the  papist  teachers,  are  nothing 
more  than  places  of  decoy  through  which  young  women,  at  the 
most  delicate  age,  are  ensnared  into  the  power  of  the  Roman 
priests— and  that  the  toleration  of  the  monastic  system  in  the 
United  States  and   Britain,  the  only  two  countries  in  the 
world,  in  which  that  unnatural  abomination  is  now  extending 
its  wilherifig  influence,  is  high  treason  against  God  and 
mankind.    If  American  citizens  and  British  Christians, 
after  the  appalling  developments  which  have  been  made, 
permit   the    continuance  of  that  prodigious  wickedness 
which  is  inseparable  from  nunneries  and  the  celibacy  of 
popish  priests,  they  will  ere  long  experience  that  divine 
castigation  which  is  justly  due  to  transgressors,  who  wil- 
fully trample  upon  all  the  appointments  of  God,  and  who 
subvert  the  foundation  of  national  concord,  and  extinguish 
the  comforts  of  domestic  society.    Listen  to  the  challenge 
again  !    All  the  papers  with  which  the  Protestant  Vindicator 
exchanges,  are  requested  to  give  the  challenge  one  or  two  irir . 
sertions."    (Here  it  was  repeated.) 

(  Testimony  of  a  Friend  in  the  Hospital.) 
Statement  made  by  a  respectable  woman,  who 
had  the  charge  of  me  during  a  part  of  my  stay 


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248 


APPENDIX. 


in  the  Bellevue  Hospital,  in  New  York.  She 
is  ready  to  substantiate  it  It  is  now  first  pub- 
lished. 

"  I  was  employed  as  an  occasional  assistant  in  the  Belle- 
Tue  Hospital,  in  New  York,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1835. 
My  department  was  in  the  Middle  House  and  the  pantry. 
I  was  present  one  day  in  the  room  of  Mrs.  Johnston,  the 
Matron,  when  a  man  came  in  with  a  young  woman,  and 
gave  a  note  to  Mrs.  J.,  (which  I  understood  was  from  Col. 
Fish,)  the  Superintendent,  Mr.  Stevens,  being  out.  The 
female  was  dressed  in  a  light  blue  calico  frock,  a  salmon- 
coloured  shawl,  and  a  black  bonnet,  under  which  was  a 
plain  cap,  something  like  a  night-cap,  which  I  afterward 
understood  was  a  nun's  cap.  Being  occupied  at  the  time; 
I  paid  no  attention  to  the  conversation  which  took  place 
between  her  and  the  Matron ;  but  I  soon  heard  that  she  was 
a  nun,  who  had  escaped  from  a  convent  in  Canada,  who 
had  been  found  in  a  destitute  condition,  by  some  persons 
shooting  in  the  fields,  and  that  she  was  in  such  a  situation 
as  to  demand  comforts  and  careful  treatment. 

"  She  was  placed  in  room  No.  33,  where  most  of  the  in- 
mates were  aged  American  women ;  but  as  she  appeared 
depressed  and  melancholy,  the  next  day  Mr.  Stevens 
brought  her  into  No.  26,  and  put  her  under  my  particular 
eharge,  as  he  said  the  women  in  that  room  were  younger. 
They  were,  however,  almost  all  Roman  Catholics,  as  there 
are  many  in  the  institution  generally. 

"  I  told  her  she  might  confide  in  me,  as  I  felt  for  her 
friendless  and  unhappy  situation ;  and  finding  her  ignorant 
of  the  Bible,  and  entertaining  some  superstitious  views,  I 
gave  her  one,  and  advised  her  to  read  the  scriptures,  and 
judge  for  herself.  We  had  very  little  opportunity  to  con- 
verse in  private ;  and  although  she  several  times  said  she 
wished  she  could  tell  me  something,  no  opportunity  ofiered, 
as  I  was  with  her  only  now  and  then,  when  I  could  step 
into  the  room  for  a  few  minutes.    I  discouraged  her  from 


m'^\  \ 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


249 


talking,  because  those  around  appeared  to  be  constantly 
HsteniBg,  and  some  told  her  not  to  mind  '  that  heretic' 

"  Seeing  her  unhappy  state  of  mind,  it  was  several  times 
proposed  to  her  to  see  Mr.  Tappan ;  and,  after  a  week  or 
two,  as  I  should  judge,  he  visited  her,  advised  her  to  read 
the  Bible,  and  judge  for  herself  of  her  duty. 

"One  Sabbath  I  invited  her  to  attend  service,  and  we 
went  to  hear  Mr.  Tappan  preach;  but  after  her  return, 
some  of  the  Irish  women  told  her  to  go  no  more,  but  mind 
her  own  religion.  This  produced  an  impression  upon  her, 
for  she  seemed  like  a  child  of  tender  feeling,  gentle,  and 
disposed  to  yield.  She  bound  herself  round  my  heart  a 
good  deal,  she  was  of  so  affectionate  a  turn.  The  rudeness 
with  which  she  was  treaicd  by  several  of  the  women,  when 
they  dared,  would  someti  les  overcome;  her.  A  large  and 
rather  old  M'oman,  namci  Welsh,  one  of  the  inmates,  enter- 
ed the  room  one  day,  very  abi  uptly,  saying,  *  I  want  to  see 
this  virtuous  nun ;'  and  abused  hei  with  rr  jst  shameful  lan- 
guage, so  that  I  had  to  rebuke  her,  and  c.  iinplained  of  her 
to  the  Superintendent,  who  was  shocked  at  such  ;  npudence 
in  a  foreign  pauper,  so  that  she  was  put  into  atjoiuerroom. 
Maria  was  washing  her  hands  at  the  llrae  Mrs.  Welsh  cr^  •ic 
in,  and  was  so  much  agitated,  that  she  did  not  raise  her 
head,  and  almost  fainted,  so  that  I  hod  to  lift  her  upon  a  bed. 

"  Before  this  occurrence,  the  women  would  often  speak 
to  Maria  while  I  was  away,  and,  as  I  had  every  reason  to 
believe,  endeavoured  to  persuade  her  to  go  to  the  priests. 
I  told  them  that  they  ought  rather  to  protect  her,  as  she  had 
come  to  the  same  country  where  they  had  sought  protection. 

"Mr.  Conroy,  a  R'-  nan  priest,  used  to  be  regularly  at 
the  institution  two  or  i;i>  ee  times  a  week,  from  about  10  till 
1  o'clock,  both  before  and  after  Maria  Monk  became  an  in- 
mate of  it.  No.  10  was  his  confession-room.  He  baptized 
children  in  the  rqaare-ward,  and  sometimes  visited  the  sick 
Catholics  in  other  rooms.  Sometimes  he  went  up  in  the 
afternoon  also. 

"  I  heard  it  said,  that  Mr.  Conroy  had  asked  to  speak 


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250 


APPENDIX. 


"With  Maria;  and  that  an  offer  vras  made  to  him  that  he 
might  see  her  before  others,  but  not  otherwise,  to  which 
Mr.  Conroy  did  not  consent. 

"Sometimes  Maria  was  much  disturbed  in  her  sleep, 
starting  suddenly,  with  every  appearance  of  terror.  Some 
nights  she  did  not  sleep  at  all,  and  often  told  me,  what  I 
had  no  doubt  was  the  fact,  that  she  was  too  much  agitated 
by  the  recollection  of  what  she  had  seen  in  the  Nunnery. 
She  would  sometimes  say  in  the  morning, '  O,  if  I  could 
tell  you !  You  think  you  have  had  trouble,  but  I  have  bad 
more  than  ever  you  did.* 

"  Her  distressing  state  of  mind,  with  the  trials  caused  by 
those  around  her,  kept  me  constantly  thinking  of  Maria,  so 
that  when  employed  at  a  distance  from  her,  I  would  often 
run  to  her  room,  to  see  how  she  was  for  a  moment,  and 
back  again.  Fortunately,  the  women  around  held  me 
somewhat  in  fear,  because  they  found  my  reports  of  the  in- 
terference of  some  were  attended  to ;  and  this  kept  them 
more  at  a  distance ;  yet  they  would  take  advantage  of  my 
absence  sometimes.  One  day,  on  coming  to  No.  23,  I 
found  Maria  all  in  a  tremour,  and  she  told  me  that  Mrs. 
♦  ♦  *,  one  of  the  Roman  Catholic  nurses,  had  informed  her 
that  Mr.  Conroy  was  in  the  institution,  and  wished  to  see 
her.  *  And  what  shall  I  doT  she  inquired  of  me,  in  great 
distress. 

"  I  told  her  not  to  be  afraid,  and  that  she  should  be  pro- 
tected, as  she  was  among  friends,  and  endeavoured  to  quiet 
her  fears  all  I  could ;  but  it  was  very  difficult  to  do  so.  One 
of  the  women  in  the  house,  I  know,  told  Maria,  in  my 
presence,  one  day,  that  Mr.  Conroy  was  waiting  ki  the 
passage  to  see  her. 

"The  present  Superintendent  (another  Mr.  Stevens)  sue 
ceeded  the  former  while  Maria  and  I  were  in  the  Hospital. 
Abby  Welsh  (not  the  Mrs.  Welsh  mentioned  before)  got 
very  angry  with  me  one  day,  because,  as  usual  on  the  days 
when  Mr.  Conroy  came,  I  was  watchful  to  prevent  his 
having  an  interview  with  Maria.    Another  person,  for  a 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 


261 


time,  used  to  employ  her  in  sewing  in  her  room  on  those 
days,  for  she  also  protected  her,  as  well  in  this  way,  as  by 
reproving  those  who  troubled  her.  Abby  Welsh,  finding 
me  closely  watching  Maria  on  the  day  I  was  speaking  of, 
told  me,  in  a  passion,  that  I  might  watch  her  as  closely  as 
I  pleased— Mr.  Conroy  wtndd  have  her.  Not  long  after  this, 
I  saw  Abby  Welsh  talking  earnestly  with  Mr.  Conroy,  in 
the  yard,  under  one  of  the  windows  of  the  Middle  House, 
and  heard  her  say,  *  the  nun,'  and  afterward,  *  she's  hid.' 

"  A  Roman  Catholic  woman,  who  supposed  that  Maria 
had  been  seen  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  expressed  a  wish  that 
she  could  have  caught  her  there ;  and  said,  she  would  never 
again  have  made  her  appearance.  I  inquired  whether 
there  was  any  place  where  she  could  have  been  confined. 
She  replied,  in  a  reserved,  but  significant  manner, '  There 
is  at  least  one  cell  there  for  her»' 

«  New  York,  March  23d,  1836." 

it  would  be  a  natural  question,  if  my  readers 
should  ask,  "What  said  the  Roman  Catholics  to 
such  testimonials  ?  They  laid  great  stress  on  affi- 
davits sent  for  to  Montreal ;  what  do  they  think  of 
affidavits  spontaneously  given  in  New  York?" 

So  far  as  I  know,  they  have  republished  but  one, 
and  that  is  Mr.  Miller's. 

The  N.  Y.  Catholic  Diary  of  March  19th,  said— 

"  We  take  the  following  overwhelming  testimony  from 
the  Brooklyn  American  Citizen  of  the  llth  instant : 

"  The  following  affidavits,  &c.,  are  copied  from  the  last 
No.  of  the  *  Protestant  Vindicator,*  and  prove,  it  seems  to 
us,  taken  with  other  corroborating  circumstances,  the  false- 
hood or  irrelevancy  of  the  testimony  against  Miss  Monk, 
and  therefore  establish  the  truth  of  her  narrative :" 

(Here  it  inserted  Mr  Miller's  affidavit,  and  thea 
added :) — 


i: 


'  I 


Ur 


i 

1 

t 

t 

I 
1 

1,' 

1 

■»:' 

< 

i 
1 

,  1 

! 

t  ^ 

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\ 

1 

f 

'!'!'( 
l''^ 

-i^ 
f 


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ii 


t     I 


I). 


!     i 


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I 
I 


ll 


mv^ 


252 


APPENDIX. 


?'What  is  the  weight  of  the  affidavit  1  Of  pondew)ug 
import  1  '  I  inquired  where  Maria  was,  and  she  told  me 
she  was  in  the  Nunnery.'  Therefore  she  is  an  eloped 
Nun.  Marvellous  logical  affidavit!  We  may  say,  that 
when  an  inquiry  is  made  after  the  editor  of  this  paper,  and 
the  answer  is,  that  he  was  in  a  Protestant  Church,  there- 
fore he  is  a  Protestant  minister." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Schneller,  (for  a  Catholic  priest  is 
the  editor  of  that  paper,)  thus  tries  to  slide  over  the 
important  testimony  of  Mr.  Miller,  and  in  doing  it, 
admits  I  was  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  in  the 
summer  of  1832.  Of  course,  he  admits  then,  that 
Dr.  Robertson^s  testimony  to  the  contrary  is  false, 
and  gives  up  the  great  point  which  the  Montreal 
affidavits  were  intended  to  settle,  viz.  that  I  had 
not  been  in  any  Nunnery — at  least,  not  since  I  was  a 
child. 

But  another  thing  is  worthy  of  remark.  The 
Diary  says,  **  We  take  the  following  overwhelm- 
ing testimony  from  the  Brooklyn  American  Citi- 
zen," yet  he  really  leaves  out  the  greater  part  of 
the  testimony  which  that  paper  contained,  viz.  the 
certificate  beginning  on  page  238.  Let  any  one  turn 
to  that,  and  ask  whether  the  e'Jitor  had  not  some  rea- 
son to  wish  to  keep  it  from  his  readers?  Did  he 
not  get  rid  of  it  very  ingeniously,  when  he  inserted 
the  following  remarks  instead  of  it  ? 

"  The  following  statement  has  been  furni^ed  by  the  fc» 
male  witness  above  mentioned ;  the  name  being  reserved 
only  from  delicacy  to  a  lady's  feelings." 

'*  Excellent !  '  delicacy  to  a  lady'^s  feelings ! !'  we  are  ab« 
sorbedin  an  exclamation  of  wonder;  the  delicate  name,  in 


\  \  •• 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  WOBK. 


853 


i.-l 


r  ponde»)a9 
she  told  me 
\  an  eloped 
ly  say,  that 
s  paper,  and 
lurch,  there- 

ic  priest  is 
3e  over  the 
n  doing  it, 
lery  in  the 
s  then^  that 
ry  is  false, 
!  Montreal 
that  I  had 
nee  I  was  a 

larlc.  The 
)verwhelm' 
rican  Citi- 
iter  part  of 
ed,  viz.  the 

ly  one  turn 

[t  some  rea- 

Did  he 

te  inserted 


id  by  the  fe- 
ig  reserved 

we  are  ab' 
ite  name,  in 


a  matter  of  such  vast  importance  as  that  which  affects 
the  truth  of  the  slanderous  tale,  cannot  be  mentioned  1 

"  Therefore,  *  we,  the  subscribers,'  '  Brownlee,  Slocum, 
Bruce,  Fanshaw,  Belden,  Wesson,  and  Hogan,'  rest  the 
weight  of  their  authority  upon  the  'delicacy'  of  a  name- 
less *  lady's  feelings.'  " 

Now  here  Mr.  Schellner  pretends  that  the  witness 
was  not  accessible,  and  leaves  it  in  doubt,  whether 
the  subscribers,  (men  of  known  character  and  unim- 
peachable veracity,)  knew  any  thing  of  her.  Yet 
it  was  expressly  stated  by  them  that  she  was  known, 
and  that  any  reasonable  inquiries  would  be  readily 
answered.     (See  p.  236.) 

I  have  no  intention  of  attempting  to  enforce  the 
evidence  presented  in  the  testimonials  just  given.  I 
shall  leave  every  reader  to  form  his  own  conclu- 
sions independently  and  dispassionately.  I  could 
easily  say  things  likely  to  excite  the  feelings  of 
every  one  who  peruses  these  pages— but  I  prefer  to 
persist  in  the  course  1  have  thus  far  pursued,  and 
abstain  from  all  exciting  expressions.  The  things 
I  declare  are  sober  realities,  and  nothing  is  neces- 
sary to  have  them  so  received,  but  that  the  evidence 
be  calmly  laid  before  the  public. 

I  will  make  one  or  two  suggestions  here,  for  the 
purpose  of  directing  attention  to  points  of  import- 
ance, though  one  or  two  of  them  have  been  already 
touched  upon. 

1st.  One  of  the  six  affidavits  was  given  by  Dr. 
Robertson,  and  the  remaining  five  were  sworn  to 
before  him. 

WW  - 


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f'  '^> 


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1  > 

I  : 


i 


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w 


\\. 


,1 " 


I  > 


'\% 


: '  i 

>      ,6    I    •  '(  ■ 

\\      i.   \ 


(      S 

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t 


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t 


\  i 
I 


I . 


:  : 
Pi  ^' 


I' 


f 


% !  i 


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I   t 


l^f 


I   . 


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254 


APPENDIX 


2d.  The  witnesses  speak  of  interviews  with  me, 
on  two  of  the  most  distressing  days  of  my  life. 
Now  let  the  reader  refer  to  those  affidavits  when 
he  has  read  page  268th,  and  chapter  8th,  in  the 
•'  Sequelf^  and  then  say,  whether  any  expressions 
which  they  may  have  misunderstood,  or  any  which 
/      may  have  been  fabricated  for  me,  (as  I  strongly  sus- 
pect must  have  been  the  fact  with  some,)  ought  to 
destroy  my  character  for  credibility;  especially  when 
I  appeal  to  evidence  so  incontestible  as  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  nunnery,  and  my  opponents  shrink  from 
it.     Let  the  reader  observe  also,  that  in  the  inter- 
views spoken  of  in  the  affidavits,  no. third  person  is 
commonly  spoken  of  as  present ;  while  those  who 
are  named  are  most  of  them  inimical  to  me. 

^.  All  the  testimony  in  the  affidavits  is  aimed  to 
destroy  my  character,  and  to  prevent  me  from  re- 
ceiving any  credit  as  a  witness.  Not  a  bit  of  it 
meets  the  charges  I  make  against  the  priests  and 
nuns.  If  they  had  proved  that  I  was  never  in  the 
nunnery,  that,  indeed,  would  set  aside  my  testi- 
mony :  but  failing  to  do  that,  the  attempt  goes  far  to 
set  their  own  aside. 

Having  now  fairly  shown  my  readers  what  re- 
ception my  first  edition  met  with,  both  from  enemies 
and  friends,  I  proceed  to  the  "  Sequel"  of  my  nai- 
rative. 


5  I 


:  'II 


m 


li'i 


r 


;  / 


APPENDIX,  NO.  II. 


PREFACE 


U 


;    ! 


SEQUEL  TO  THE  NARRATIVE. 


(    ! 


Iii 


The  followiDg  Sequel  was  prepared  for  tlie  press  some 
months  ago,  being  originally  intended  to  form  the  conciu* 
sion  of  my  first  publication.  It  being  thought  best,  by  my 
friends,  in  my  first  editions,  to  confine  the  attention  of  my 
readers  entirely  to  the  Convent,  I  concluded  to  close  with 
the  momcnc  of  my  escape,  adding  only  a  few  pages  in  re- 
lation to  some  circumstances  that  took  place  in  New  York. 

The  contents  of  this  Sequel  were  committed  to  paper  be- 
fore I  ever  saw  the  Montreal  affidavits,  and  nothing  has 
been  added  since,  except  a  few  notes,  which  appeared  ne- 
cessary to  elucidate  certain  points  which  seemed  to  require 
them.  Some  of  my  friends,  who  had  examined  those  affi- 
davits, put  questions  to  me  suggested  by  them;  and,  as  they 
since  have  told  me,  found  many  things  in  my  accounts  un- 
designedly confirmed  by  my  adversaries,  in  this  manner, 
as  well  as  by  comparing  the  affidavits  with  the  record  al- 
ready made.  •  '  ».*. 

The  reader  who  compares  the  account  of  my  first  inter- 
view with  Dr.  Robertson,  in  the  •'  Sequel,"  with  that  in  his 
affidavit,  will  find  many  circumstances  to  correspond; 
and,  I  repeat  it,  the  former  was  written  as  it  stands,  be- 
fore I  had  seen  the  latter.  As  to  what  is  said  about  my 
attempts  to  deceive,  and  my  avowals  of  things  not  consist- 
ent with  my  story,  I  can  only  say,  that  I  do  not  know  that  I 
remember  all  I  said,  in  the  state  of  distress  in  which  I  was 
at  the  time  j  but  that  I  have  no  recollection  of  having  even 


{I- 


256 


APPENDIX 


spoken  of  several  of  the  subjects  mentioned,  by  himself  and 
other  jsi.cners  of  the  affidavits.  It  appears  plain,  however, 
that  Dr.  Robertson  felt  a  peculiar  desire  (for  some  reason 
or  other)  to  represent  my  character  in  the  most  unfavour- 
able light  he  could. 

I  have  had  many  questions  asked  of  me  concerning  my 
adventures  after  my  escape  from  the  Convent,  and  partic- 
ularly of  what  happened  during  my  visit  to  Montreal  in 
August,  1835.  I  could  therefore  wish,  that  my  Sequel  had 
been  rather  more  detailed  in  some  parts ;  bat  it  has  not 
received  any  such  additions,  because  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  it  must  be  more  satisfactory  to  the  public  to  know,  that 
it  contains  nothing  but  what  was  originally  there. 

My  readers,  I  think,  will  learn  from  the  following  pages, 
that  when  a  nun  has  merely  escaped  from  a  Convent,  but  a 
small  part  of  her  difficulties  and  dangers  may  be  passed. 
They  may  also  perceive  some  of  the  reasons  why  so  few 
nuns  have  ever  been  brought  to  give  testimony  concerning 
what  they  know. 

For  my  ov^n  part.  I  may  say  that  I  was  a  hundred 
times,  perhaps  I  might  say  a  thousand  times,  on  the  point 
of  having  my  testimony  suppressed  for  ever. 


5    ; 


SEQUEL. 


CHAPTER   I. 

At  liberty— Doubtful  what  to  do— Pound  refuge  /or  the  nighi 
—Diaappointment — A^  ,first  day  out  of  the  Convent—SoUr 
tude — Recollections,  yearSf  and  plans, 

I  HAVE  but  a  confused  idea  of  the  manner  in 
which  I  got  through  some  of  the  doors ;  several  of 
them,  I  am  confident,  were  fastened,  and  one  or  two 
I  fastened  behind  me.*  But  I  was  now  in  the 
street,  and  what  was  to  be  done  next  ?  I  had  got 
my  liberty ;  but  where  should  I  go  ?  It  was  dark, 
I  was  in  great  danger,  gc  which  way  I  would; 
and  for  a  moment,  I  tnougAt  I  had  been  unwise  to 
leave  the  Convent.  If  I  could  return  unobserved, 
would  it  not  be  better  1  But  summoning  resolution, 
I  turned  to  the  left,  and  ran  some  distance  up  the 
street ;  then  reflecting  that  I  had  better  take  the  op- 
posite direction,  I  returned  under  the  same  Con- 
vent walls,  and  ran  as  fast  down  to  St.  Paul's  street, 
then  turning  up  towards  the  north,  exerted  all  my 

^11  ■IMIIMIIIMII  ■!!■  .. _.  !■_ .     .  J  I  II  IM  II  MM' ' 

*  Before  leaving  the  nunnery  grounds,  I  ran  round  the  end  of 
the  building,  stood  a  moment  in  hesitation  whether  I  had  not 
better  return,  then  hastening  back  to  the  other  sideb  ran  to  the 
gate,  opened  it,  and  went  out 

22* 


^Ml 


•r 


}\V' 


n    . 


Mi 


f  '  i 


F!  ■  -7,v 


111 

if ;  < 


) 


l^llii 


.  ■:    ;i|f 


..f! 


i  Mil' 


Ti 


1  ■  I 


f 


,1   ,  I,;! I 


1! 

1 


\i 


I  ! 


I 


I    -'iilll   ■ 


I'* 


•I'      :,l 

it  ■ ' 

j  J       ' 

I 


\\ 


258 


AITfiiXDIX. 


Strength,  and  fled  for  my  life.  It  was  a  cold  even- 
ing, but  1  stopped  for  nothing,  having  recollected 
the  house  where  I  had  been  put  to  board  for  a  short 
time,  by  the  priest  Roque,  when  prepared  to  enter 
the  Convent  as  a  novice,  and  resolved  to  seek  a 
lodging  there  for  the  night.  Thither  I  went.  It 
seemed  as  if  I  flew  rather  than  ran.  It  was  by  that 
time  so  dark,  that  I  was  able  to  see  distinctly  through 
the  low  windows,  by  the  light  within ;  and  had  tlu^ 
pleasure  to  find  that  she  was  alone  with  her  chii- 
dren.  I  therefore  went  boldly  to  the  door,  was  re- 
ceived with  readiness,  and  entered  to  take  up  my 
lodging  there  once  more. 

Here  I  changed  my  nun's  dress  for  one  less  like 
ly  to  excite  observation ;  and  having  received  a  few 
dollars  in  addition  to  make  up  the  difTerencc,  I  r<? 
tired  to  rest,  determined  to  rise  early  and  take  th<; 
morning  steamboat  for  Cluebec.  I  knew  that  ray 
hostess  was  a  friend  of  the  Superior,  as  I  havc^ 
mentioned  before,  and  presumed  that  it  would  not 
be  long  before  she  would  give  information  against 
me.  I  knew,  however,  that  she  could  not  gain  ad- 
mittance to  the  Convent  very  early,  and  felt  safe  in 
remaining  in  the  house  through  the  night. 

But  afler  I  had  retired  I  found  it  impossible  to 
sleep,  and  the  night  appeared  very  long.  In  the 
morning  early,  I  requested  that  a  son  of  the  woman 
might  accompany  me  to  the  boat,  which  he  did.  At 
an  early  hour,  therefore,  I  walked  to  the  steamboat, 
but  learnt,  to  my  regret,  that  it  would  not  go  before 
night.     Fearing  that  I  might  fall  into  the  hands  of 


SEQUEL. 


259 


the  priests,  and  be  carried  back  to  the  nunnery,  and 
not  knowing  where  to  go,  I  turned  away,  and  de- 
termined to  seek  some  retired  spot  immediately.  I 
walked  through  a  part  of  the  city,  and  some  dis- 
tance on  the  Lachine  road,  when  finding  a  solitary 
place,  I  seated  myself  in  much  distress  of  mind, 
fearful  and  anxious,  beyond  my  power  of  descrip- 
tion. I  could  not  think  myself  safe  anywhere  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Montreal;  for  the  priests 
were  numerous,  and  almost  all  the  people  were  en- 
tirely devoted  to  them.  They  would  be  very  desi- 
rous of  finding  me,  and,  as  I  believed,  would 
make  great  exertions  to  get  me  again  in  their 
hands. 

It  was  a  pleasant  spot  where  I  now  found  my- 
self, and  as  the  weather  was  not  uncomfortable  in 
the  daytime,  I  had  nothing  to  trouble  me  except  my 
recollections  and  fears.  As  for  the  want  of  food, 
that  gave  me  not  the  slightest  uneasiness,  as  I  felt 
no  inclination  whatever  to  eat.  The  uncertainty 
and  doubts  I  continually  felt,  kept  me  in  a  state  of 
irresolution  the  whole  day.  What  should  I  do? 
Where  should  I  go?  I  had  not  a  friend  in  the 
world  to  whom  I  could  go  with  confidence ;  while 
my  enemies  were  numerous,  and,  it  seemed  to  me, 
all  around  me,  and  ready  to  seize  me.  I  thought 
of  my  uncle,  who  lived  at  the  distance  of  five 
miles;  and  sometimes  I  almost  determined  to  set 
off  immediately  for  his  house.  I  had  visited  it 
often  when  a  child,  and  had  been  received  with  the 
utmost  kindness.     I  remembered  that  I  had  been  a 


:1' 


!     I 


»  ; 


,\l 


I  V 

( ' 


,m') 


f 

fl'     : 

1 

'If 

■ 

1' 

(n 


260 


APPENDIX. 


I  '  < 


U  J 


'\  )' 


m 


!l. 


I      11 


great  favourite  of  his;  but  some  considerations 
would  arise  which  discouraged  me  from  looking  for 
safety  in  that  direction.  The  steamboat  was  to  de- 
part in  a  few  hours.  I  coulc2  venture  to  pas? 
through  the  city  once  more  by  twilight ;  and  if  once 
arrived  at  Gluebec,  I  should  be  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  nunnery,  in  a  large  city,  and  among  a 
larger  proportion  of  Protestant  inhabitants.  Among 
them  I  might  find  friends,  or,  at  least,  some  sort  of 
protection ;  and  I  had  no  doubt  that  I  could  sup- 
port myself  by  labour. 

Then  I  thought  again  of  the  place  I  had  left ; 
the  kindness  and  sympathy,  small  though  they 
were,  which  I  had  found  in  some  of  my  late  com- 
panions in  the  Convent;  the  awful  mortal  sin  I 
had  committed  in  breaking  my  vows ;  and  the  ter- 
rible punishment  I  should  receive  if  taken  as  a  fu- 
gitive and  carried  back.  If  I  should  return  volun- 
tarily, and  ask  to  be  admitted  again :  what  would 
the  Superior  say,  how  would  she  treat  me  ?  Should 
I  be  condemned  to  any  very  se\  jre  penance  ?  Might 
I  not,  at  least,  escape  death  ?  But  then  there  was 
one  consideration  that  would  now  and  then  occur 
to  me,  which  excited  the  strongest  determination 
never  to  return.  I  was  to  become  a  mother,  and 
the  thought  of  witnessing  the  murder  of  my  own 
child  was  more  than  I  could  bear. 

Purgatory  was  doubtless  my  portion;  and  per- 
haps hell  for  ever — such  a  purgatory  and  hell  as 
are  painted  in  the  Convent :  but  there  was  one  hope 
for  me  yet. 


■    I 


SEQUEL. 


261 


!. 


I  might  confess  all  my  deadly  sins  sometime  be- 
fore I  died,  and  a  Bishop  could  pardon  the  worst  ot 
them. 

This  was  good  Catholic  doctrine,  and  I  rested 
upon  it  with  so  much  hope,  that  I  was  not  quite 
driven  to  despair. 

In  reflections  like  these,  I  spent  the  whole  daj% 
afraid  to  stray  from  tlie  secluded  spot  to  which  I 
had  retreated,  though  at  different  times  forming  mo- 
mentary plans  to  leave  it,  and  go  in  various  direc- 
tions. I  ate  not  a  morsel  of  food,  and  yet  felt  no 
hunger.  Had  I  been  well  provided,  I  could  have 
tasted  nothing  in  such  a  state  of  mind.  The  after- 
noon wasted  away,  the  sun  set,  and  darkness  began 
to  come  on  :  I  rose  and  set  off*  again  for  the  city 
I  passed  along  the  streets  unmolested  by  any  one ; 
and  reached  it  a  short  time  before  the  boat  was 
ready  to  start. 


?!     ! 


] 


* 

rii: 


■^  : 


ii 


'I 


I 


I 


m^ 


I         V 


I 


111-  I 


i 


■  /    I 


rijti 


■I 


i  ( 


I.' . ; 


'H 


III 


i. 


It 


I 


1 1 


'f 


11  i 


'\m 


CHAPTER    II. 

Start/or  Quebec—Iiecognised— Disappointed  again— Not  per- 
mitted  to  land— Return  to  Montreal— Landed  and  patted 
through  the  eity  be/ore  day—Lachine  Canal — Intended  close 
of  my  life. 

Soon  after  we  left  the  shore,  the  captain,  whom 
I  had  previously  seen,  appeared  to  recognise  me. 

He  came  up  and  inquired  if  I  was  not  the  daugh- 
ter of  my  mother,  mentioning  her  name.  I  had 
long  been  taught  and  accustomed  to  deceive ;  and 
it  may  be  supposed  that  in  such  a  case  I  did  not 
hesitate  to  deny  the  truth,  hoping  that  I  might  avoid 
being  known,  and  fearing  to  be  defeated  in  my  ob- 
ject. He  however  persisted  that  he  knew  me,  and 
said  that  he  must  insist  on  my  returning  with  him 
to  Montreal,  adding  that  I  must  not  leave  his  boat 
to  land  at  Cluebcc.  I  said  but  little  to  him,  but  in- 
tended to  get  on  shore  if  possible,  at  the  end  of  our 
journey — a  thing  I  had  no  doubt  I  might  effect. 

When  we  reached  Quebec,  however,  I  found,  to 
my  chagrin,  that  the  ladies'  maid  carefully  locked 
the  cabin-door  while  I  was  in,  after  the  ladies  had 
left  it,  who  were  six  or  eight  in  number. 

I  said  little,  and  made  no  attempts  to  resist  the  re- 
striction put  upon  me ;  but  secretly  cherished  the 
hope  of  being  able,  by  watching  an  opportunity,  to 
slip  on  shore  at  tea-time,  and  lose  myself  among  the 
streets  of  the  city.     Although  a  total  stranger  to 


SEQUBL. 


2G3 


Quebec,  I  longed  to  bo  at  liberty  there,  03  I  thought 
I  could  soon  placo  myself  among  persons  who 
would  secure  me  from  the  Catholics,  each  of  whom 
I  now  looked  upon  as  an  enemy. 

But  I  soon  found  that  my  last  hopes  were  blight- 
ed :  the  maid,  having  received,  as  I  presumed,  strict 
orders  from  the  captain,  kept  me  closely  confined, 
so  that  escape  was  impossible.     I  was  distressed,  it 
is  true,  to  find  myself  in  this  condition ;  but  I  had 
already  become  accustomed  to  disappointments,  and 
therefore  perhaps  sunk  less  under  this  new  one, 
than  I  might   otherwise   have   done.     When   the 
hour  for  departure  arrived,  I  was  therefore  still  con- 
fined in  the  steamboat,  and  it  was  not  until  we  had 
left  the  shore  that  I  was  allowed  to  leave  the  cabin. 
The  captain  and  others  treated  me  with  kindness 
in  every  respect,  except  that  of  permitting  me  to  do 
what  I  most  desired.     I  have  sometimes  suspected, 
that  he  had  received  notice  of  my  escape  from  some 
of  the  prffsts,  with  a  request  to  stop  my  flight,  if  I 
should  go  on  board  his  boat.     His  wife  is  a  Catho- 
lic, and  this  is  the  only  way  in  which  I  can  account 
for  his  conduct :  still  1  have  not  sufficient  know- 
ledge of  his  motives  and  intentions  to  speak  with  en- 
lire  confidence  on  the  subject. 

My  time  passed  heavily  on  board  of  the  steam- 
boat, particularly  on  my  passage  up  the  river  to- 
wards Montreal.  My  mind  was  too  much  agitated 
to  allow  me  to  sleep,  for  I  was  continually  medita- 
ting on  the  scenes  I  had  witnessed  in  the  Convent, 
and  anticipating  wdth  dread  such  as  I  had  reason  to 


I   I 


' 


w 


f 

r/f. 

, 

f,.'^  ' 

i 

•  1 

1 

1 

i!"l 

1 

♦ 

1 

1 

>  ::i 

,   \ 

I 

<  1    \ 

1 

i 

1  <l 


I'M  •'    ! 


I 


« ' ' 


.1    i 


*     h 


264 


APPENDIX. 


•1, 


think  I  might  soon  be  called  to  pass  through.     I 
bought  for  a  trifle  while  on  board,  I  hardly  know 
why,  a  small  medallion  with  a  head  upon  it,  and  tho 
name  of  Robertson,  which  I  hung  on  my  neck.     As 
I  sat  by  day  with  nothing  to  do,  1  occasionally  sunk 
into  a  doze  for  a  few  minutes,  when  1  usually  waked 
with  a  start  from  some  frightful  dream.    Sometimes 
I  thought  I  was  running  away  from  the  priests,  and 
closely  pursued,  and  sometimes  had  no  hope  of  es- 
cape.    But  the  most  distressing  of  my  feelings  were 
those  I  suffered  in  the  course  of  the  night.     AVe 
stopped  some  time  at  Berthier,  where  a  number  of 
prisoners  were  taken  on  board,  to  be  carried  up  the 
river;  and  this  caused  much  confusion,  and  added 
to  my  painful  reflections. 

My  mind  became  much  agitated,  worse  than  it 
had  been  before ;  and  what  between  waking  fears, 
and  sleeping  visions,  I  spent  a  most  wretched  night 
Sometimes  1  thought  the  priests  and  nuns  had  me 
shut  up  in  a  dungeon ;  sometimes  they  were  about 
to  make  way  with  me  in  a  most  cruel  manner. 
Once  I  dreamed  that  I  was  in  some  house,  and  a 
coach  came  up  to  the  door,  into  which  I  was  to  be 
put  bv  force;  and  the  man  who  seized  me,  and  was 
putting  me  in,  had  no  head. 

When  we  rej^ched  Montreal  on  Saturday  morn- 
mg,  it  was  not  daylight;  and  the  captain,  landing, 
set  ofTi  as  I  understood,  to  give  my  mother  informa- 
tion that  I  was  in  his  boat.  He  was  jjone  a  lone; 
lime,  which  li  d  me  to  conjecture  th:U  he  minht 
have  found  tliiTicuIty  in  speaking  with  her;  but  the 


\\- 


SEQUEL. 


265 


delay  proved  very  favourable  to  me,  for  perceiving 
that  I  was  neither  locked  up  nor  watched,  I  hasten- 
ed  on  shore,  and  pursued  my  way  into  the  city.  I 
felt  happy  at  my  escape :  but  what  w^as  I  then  to 
do  ?  Whither  could  I  go  7  Not  to  my  mother :  1 
was  certain  I  could  not  remain  long  with  her,  wilh- 
out  being  known  to  the  priests. 

My  friend lessness  and  utter  helplessness,  with  the 
dread  of  being  murdered  in  the  Convent,  added  to 
thoughts  of  the  shame  that  must  await  me  if  I 
lived  a  few  months,  made  me  take  a  desperate  reso- 
lution, and  I  hurried  to  put  it  into  effect. 

My  object  Avas  to  reach  the  head  of  the  Lachine 
Canal,  which  is  near  the  St.  Lawrence,  beyond  the 
extremity  of  the  southern  suburbs.  I  walked  hast- 
ily along  St.  Paul's  street,  and  found  all  the  houses 
still  shut ;  then  turning  to  the  old  Recollet  Church, 
I  reached  N6tre-Dame  street,  which  I  followed  in 
the  direction  I  wished  to  go. 

The  morning  was  chilly,  ^s  the  season  was  some- 
what advanced:  but  that  was  of  no  importance  to 
me.  Day  had  appeared,  and  I  desired  to  accom- 
plish the  object  on  which  I  was  now  bent,  before 
the  light  should  much  increase.  I  walked  on  there- 
fore, but  the  morning  had  broken  bright  before  I 
arrived  at  the  Canal ;  and  then  I  found  to  my  dis- 
appointment that  two  Canadians  were  at  work  on 
the  bank,  getting  water,  or  doing  something  else. 

I  was  by  the  great  basin  where  the  boats  start, 
and  near  the  large  canal  storehouse.     I  have  not 
said  what  was  my  design  :  it  was  to  drown  myself 
23 


n 


f 


h  I 


' 


f 


1( 


■}• 


U-i 


I..  ^  J 


266 


APPENDIX. 


Fearing  the  men  would  re'-v.ue  me,  I  hesitated 
for  some  time,  hoping  the^  would  retire :  but  find- 
ing that  they  did  not,  I  grew  impatient.  I  stood 
looking  on  the  water ;  it  was  nearly  on  a  level  witli 
the  banks,  which  shelved  away,  as  I  could  perceive 
for  some  distance,  there  being  no  wind  to  disturb 
the  surface.  There  was  nothing  in  the  sight  which 
seemed  frightful  or  even  forbidding  to  me ;  I  looked 
upon  it  as  the  means  of  the  easiest  death,  and  long- 
ed to  be  buried  below.  At  length  finding  that  the 
men  were  not  likely  to  leave  the  place,  I  sprung 
from  the  bank,  and  was  in  an  instant  in  the  cold  wa- 
ter. The  shock  was  very  severe.  I  felt  a  sharp 
freezing  sensation  run  through  me,  which  almost 
immediately  rendered  me  insensible;  and  the  last 
thing  I  can  recollect  was,  that  I  was  sinking  in  the 
midst  of  water  almost  as  cold  as  ice,  which  v»^et  my 
clothes,  and  covered  me  all  over. 


Ill 


!M 


n 


1 

'  i 

lit 

CHAPTER  III. 


\ 


Awake  among  strangers— Dr.  Robertson— Imprisoned  as  a 
vagrant — Introduction  to  my  mothet — Stay  in  her  house — 
Removal  from  it  to  Mrs.  McDonakVs— Return  to  my  mo- 
therms— Desire  to  get  to  New-York— Arrangements  for  go- 
ing. 

Bow  long  I  remained  in  the  canal  I  knew  not : 
but  in  about  three  minutes,  as  I  conjectured,  I  felt  a 
severe  blow  on  my  right  side ,  ?\nd  opening  my  eyc3 
I  saw  myself  surrounded  by  men,  who  talked  a 
great  deal,  and  expressed  much  anxiety  and  curiosi- 
ty about  me.    They  inquired  of  me  my  name,  where 
I  lived,  and  why  I  had  thrown  myself  into  the  wa- 
ter :  but  I  would  not  answer  a  word.     The  blow 
which  I  had  felt,  and  which  was  probably  the  cause 
of  brin gmg  me  for  a  few  moments  to  my  senses,  I 
presume  was  caused  by  my  falling,  after  I  was  res- 
cued, upon  the  stones,  which  lay  thickly  scattered 
near  the  water.    I  remember  that  the  persons  around 
mc  continued  to  press  me  with  questions,  and  that  I 
still  remained  silent.     Some  of  them  having  obser- 
ved the  little  medallion  on  my  neck,  and  being  able 
to  read,  declared  that  I  was  probably  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Robertson,  as  it  bore  the  name ;  but  to  this,  I 
also  gave  no  answer,  and  sunk  again  into  a  state  of 
unconsciousness. 

When  my  senses  once  more  returned,  I  found 
nyself  lying  in  a  bed  covered  up  warm,  in  a  house, 


'   I 


k 


'f 


/, 


it 


I 


i; 


t    !    - 


[ 


(      I' 

■  ' 

a 


I 


.;;,) 


.1 


'!!  ;■,  <iM 


t 


2G8 


APPENDIX. 


and  heard  several  persons  talking  of  the  mass,  from 
which  they  had  just  returned.  I  could  not  imagine 
where  I  was,  for  my  thoughts  were  not  easily  col- 
lected, and  every  thing  seemed  strange  around  mc. 
Some  of  them,  on  account  of  the  name  on  the  little 
medallion,  had  sent  to  Dr.  Robertson,  to  inform  him 
that  a  young  woman  had  been  prevented  from 
drowning  herself  in  the  basin,  who  had  a  portrait 
on  her  neck,  with  his  family  name  stamped  upon  it ; 
and  he  had  sent  word,  that  although  she  could  bo 
no  relation  of  his,  they  had  better  bring  her  to  his 
house,  as  he  possibly  might  be  able  to  learn  whj 
she  was.  Preparations  were  therefore  made  to 
conduct  me  thither;  and  I  was  soon  in  his  house. 
This  was  about  midday,  or  a  little  later. 

The  doctor  endeavoured  to  draw  from  me  some 
confession  of  my  family :  but  I  refused  ;  my  feelings 
would  not  permit  me  to  give  him  any  satisfaction. 
He  offered  to  send  me  to  my  home  if  I  would  tell 
him  where  I  lived ;  but  at  length,  thinking  me  un- 
reasonable and  obstinate,  began  to  threaten  to  send 
mc  to  jail. 

In  a  short  time  I  found  that  the  latter  measure 
was  determined  on,  and  I  was  soon  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  jailer,  Captain  Holland,  and  placed  in 
a  private  room  in  his  house. 

1  had  formerly  been  acquainted  with  his  children, 
but  had  such  strong  reasons  for  remaining  unknown, 
that  I  hoped  they  would  not  recognise  me;  and,  as 
we  had  not  met  for  several  years,  I  flattered  myself 
that  such  would  be  the  case.     It  was,  at  firet,  as  I 


<      .'.      r, 


H' 


SEQUEL. 


269 


had  hoped ;  they  saw  me  in  the  evening,  but  did  not 
appear  to  suspect  who  I  was.  The  next  morning, 
however,  one  of  them  asked  me  if  I  were  not  sister 
of  my  brother,  mentioning  his  name ;  and  though  I 
denied  it,  they  all  insisted  that  I  must  be,  for  the 
likeness,  they  said,  was  surprisingly  strong.  I  still 
would  not  admit  the  truth ;  but  requested  they  would 
send  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Esson,  a  Presbyterian  clergy- 
man in-  Montreal,  saying  I  had  something  to  say  to 
him.  He  soon  made  his  appearance,  and  I  gave 
him  some  account  of  myself,  and  requested  him  to 
procure  my  release  from  confinement,  as  I  thought 
there  was  no  reason  why  I  should  be  deprived  of  my 
liberty. 

Contrary  to  my  wishes,  however,  he  went  and 
informed  my  mother.  An  unhappy  difference  had 
existed  between  us  for  many  years,  concerning  which 
I  would  not  speak,  were  it  not  necessary  to  allude 
to  it,  to  render  some  things  intelligible  which  are 
important  to  my  narrative.  L  am  willing  to  bear 
much  of  the  blame :  for  my  drawing  part  of  her 
pension  had  justly  irritated  her.  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  justify  or  explain  my  own  feelings  with 
respect  to  my  mother,  whom  I  still  regard  at  least 
in  some  degree  as  I  ought.  I  will  merely  say,  that 
I  thought  she  indulged  in  partialities  and  antipa- 
thies in  her  family  during  my  childhood ;  and  that 
I  attribute  my  entrance  into  the  nunnery,  and  the 
misfortunes  I  have  suffered,  to  my  early  estrange- 
ment from  home,  and  my  separation  from  the  fami- 
ly. I  had  neither  seen  her  nor  heard  from  her  in 
23* 


in 


\\ 


HMi 


ii       < 


\(\ 


im!'! 


V 


H' 


■  ( 

t 

1    1    id; 

\ 

•    \ 

\ 

\ 

■    1-         ■       .■ 

270 


APPENDIX. 


several  years ;  and  knew  not  whether  she  had  even 
known  of  my  entrance  into  the  Convent,  although  I 
now  learnt,  that  she  still  resided  where  she  former- 
ly did. 

It  was  therefore  with  regret  that  I  heard  that  my 
mother  had  been  informed  of  my  condition;  and 
that  I  saw  an  Irishwoman,  an  acquaintance  of  hers, 
come  to  take  me  to  the  house.  I  had  no  doubt  that 
she  would  think  I  had  disgraced  her,  by  being  im- 
prisoned, as  well  as  by  my  attempt  to  drown  my- 
self; and  what  would  be  her  feelings  towards  mc,  I 
could  only  conjecture. 

I  accompanied  the  woman  to  my  mother's,  and 
found  nearly  such  a  reception  as  I  had  expected. 
Notwithstanding  our  mutual  feelings  were  much  as 
they  had  been,  she  wished  me  to  stay  with  her,  and 
kept  me  in  one  of  her  rooms  for  several  weeks,  aLi 
with  the  utmost  privacy,  fearing  that  my  appearance 
would  lead  to  questions,  and  that  my  imprison- 
ment would  become  known.  I  soon  satisfied  my- 
self that  she  knew  little  of  what  I  had  passed 
through,  within  the  few  past  years;  and  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  inform  her,  for  that  would  great- 
ly have  increased  the  risk  of  my  being  d^'scoverel 
by  the  priests.  We  were  surrounded  by  those  who 
went  frequently  to  confession,  and  would  have 
thought  me  a  monster  of  wickedness,  guilty  of  break- 
ing the  most  solemn  vows,  and  a  fugitive  from  a  re- 
treat which  is  generally  regarded  there  as  a  place 
of  great  sanctity,  and  almost  like  a  gate  to  heaven. 
I  well  knew  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  tho 


SEQUEL. 


271 


poor  Canadians,  and  understood  how  such  a  person 
as  myself  must  appear  in  their  eyes.  They  felt  as 
I  formerly  had,  and  would  think  it  a  service  to  reli- 
gion and  to  God  to  betray  the  place  of  my  conceal- 
ment, if  by  chance  they  should  find,  or  even  suspect 
it.  As  I  had  become,  in  the  eyes  of  Catholics,  "  a 
spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,"  by  taking  the  veil,  my 
leaving  the  Convent  must  appear  to  them  a  forsa 
king  of  the  Saviour. 

As  things  were,  however,  I  remained  for  some 
time  undisturbed.  My  brother,  though  he  lived  in 
the  house,  did  not  know  of  my  being  there  for  a  fort- 
night. 

When  he  learnt  it,  and  came  to  see  me,  he  ex- 
pressed much  kindness  towards  me :  but  I  had  not 
seen  him  for  several  years,  and  had  seen  so  much 
evil,  that  I  knew  not  what  secret  motives  he  might 
have,  and  thought  it  prudent  to  be  reserved.  I, 
therefore,  communicated  to  him  nothing  of  my  his- 
tory or  intentions,  and  rather  repulsed  his  advances. 
The  truth  is,  I  had  been  so  long  among  nuns  and 
priests,  that  I  thought  there  was  no  sincerity  or 
virtue  on  earth. 

What  were  my  mother's  wishes  or  intentions  to- 
wards me,  I  was  not  informed :  but  I  found  after- 
ward, that  she  must  have  made  arrangements  to 
have  me  removed  from  her  house,  for  one  day  a 
woman  came  to  the  door  with  a  cariole,  and  on  be- 
ing admitted  to  see  me,  expressed  herself  in  a 
friendly  manner,  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  air  and 
exercise  for  my  health,  and  invited  me  to  take  a 


I 


4  ■ 


I 


M 


'   I 


it  If 

I  ill''' 
11   ife 


ii 


[III 


"'I  '^11  I!.: 


iii!!' 


272 


APPENDIX. 


I ' 


ride.  I  consented,  supposing  we  jhould  soon  re- 
turn: but  when  we  reached  St.  Antoine  suburbs, 
she  drove  up  to  a  house  which  I  had  formerly 
heard  to  be  some  kind  of  refuge,  stopped,  and  re- 
quested me  to  alight.  My  first  thought  was,  that  I 
should  be  exposed  to  ccriaia  detection,  by  some  of 
the  priests  whom  I  presumed  officiated  there;  as 
they  had  all  known  me  in  the  nunnery.  I  could 
not  avoid  entering;  but  I  resolved  lo  feign  sick- 
ness, hoping  thus  to  be  placed  out  of  sight  of  the 
priests. 

The  result  was  according  to  my  wishes :  for  I 
was  taken  to  an  upper  room,  which  was  used  as  an 
infirmary,  and  there  permitted  to  remain.  There 
were  a  large  number  of  women  in  the  house;  and 
a  Mrs.  M' Donald,  who  has  the  management  of  it, 
had  her  daughters  in  the  Ursuline  Nunnery  Cit 
Uuebec,  and  her  son  in  the  college.  The  nature  of 
the  establishment  I  could  not  fully  understand :  but 
it  seemed  to  me  designed  to  become  a  nunnery  at 
some  future  time. 

I  felt  pretty  safe  in  the  house,  so  long  as  I  was 
certain  of  remaining  in  the  infirmary ;  for  there 
was  nobody  there  who  had  ever  seen  me  before. 
But  I  resolved  to  avoid,  if  possible,  ever  making 
my  appearance  below,  for  I  felt  that  I  could  not  d3 
it  without  hazard  of  discovery. 

Among  other  appendages  of  a  Convent  which  I 
observed  in  that  place,  was  a  confessional  within 
the  building,  and  I  soon  learnt,  to  my  dismay,  that 
Father  Benin,  one  of  the  murderers  of  Saint  Fran- 


ill.'  {  \ 


fi   > 


SEQUEL. 


273 


cis,  was  in  the  habit  of  constant  attendance  as  priest 
and  confessor.  The  recollections  which  I  often 
indulged  in  of  scenes  in  the  Hotel  Dieu,  gave  mo 
uneasiness  and  distress  :  but  not  knowing  where  to 
goto  seek  greater  seclusion,  I  remained  in  the  infir- 
mary week  after  week,  still  affecting  illness  in  the 
best  manner  I  could.  At  length  I  found  that  I  was 
suspected  of  playing  off' a  deception  with  regard  to 
the  state  of  my  health ;  and  at  the  close  of  a  few 
weeks,  I  became  satisfied  that  I  could  not  remain 
longer  without  making  my  appearance  below  stairs. 
I  at  length  complied  with  the  wishes  I  heard  ex- 
pressed, that  I  would  go  into  the  community-room, 
where  those  in  health  were  accustomed  to  assemble 
to  work,  and  then  some  of  the  women  began  to  talk 
of  my  going  to  confession.  I  merely  expressed 
unwillingness  at  first ;  but  when  they  pressed  the 
point,  and  began  to  insist,  my  fear  of  detection  over- 
came every  other  feeling,  and  I  plainly  declared 
that  I  would  not  go.  This  led  to  an  altercation, 
when  the  mistress  of  the  house  pronounced  me  in- 
corrigible, and  said  she  would  not  keep  me  for  a 
hundred  pounds  a  year.  She,  in  fact,  became  so 
weary  of  having  me  there,  that  she  sent  to  my 
mother  to  take  me  away. 

My  mother,  in  consequence,  sent  a  cariole  for  me, 
and  took  me  again  into  her  house ;  but  I  became  so 
unhappy  in  a  place  where  I  was  secluded  and  des- 
titute of  all  agreeable  society,  that  I  earnestly  re- 
quested her  to  allow  me  to  leave  Canada.  I  be- 
lieve she  felt  ready  to  have  me  removed  to  a  dis- 


'*W  /i7v 


i 


r 


M' 


:i 


I' 


{  ^ 


IM 


I 


■  I 


!!! 

HIM  i 


it  i 


»  I 


i 


il 


274 


APPENinX. 


tancc,  tlmt  she  Tiiig-ht  not  be  in  J.'ngcr  of  having 
my  attempt  at  solf-dcstruclion,  and  ny  confinement 
in  prison  made  public. 

There  was  a  fact  which  I  had  not  disclosed,  and 
of  which  all  were  ignorant:  viz.,  that  which  had 
so  much  influence  in  exciting  me  to  leave  the  Con- 
vent, and  to  reject  every  idea  of  returning  to  it 

When  conversing  with  my  mother  about  leaving 
Canada,  1  proposed  to  go  to  New- York.  She  in- 
quired why  I  wished  to  go  there.  I  made  no  an- 
swer to  that  question :  for,  though  I  had  never  been 
there,  and  knew  scarcely  any  hing  ;il)out  the  place, 
I  presumed  that  I  should  fma  protection  from  my 
enemies,  as  I  knew  it  was  in  a  Protestant  country. 
I  had  not  thought  of  goinu  to  the  Unued  States  be- 
fore, because  I  had  no  one  to  go  with  me,  nor  money 
enough  to  pay  my  expenses ;  but  then  a  plan  pre- 
sented itself  to  my  mind,  by  which  I  thought  I 
might  proceed  to  New  York  in  safety. 

There  was  a  man  who  I  presumed  would  wish 
to  have  me  leave  Canada,  on  his  own  account ;  and 
that  was  the  man  I  had  so  precipitately  married 
while  residing  at  St.  Denis.  He  must  have  had 
motives,  as  I  thought,  for  wishini^  me  at  a  distance. 
I  proposed  therefore  that  h  •  should  be  informed  that 
I  was  in  Montreal,  and  anxious  to  go  to  the  States; 
and  such  a  message  was  sent  to  him  by  a  woman 
whom  my  mother  knew.*   She  haa  a  little  stand  for 


i    If 


♦  Mrs.  Tarbert,  or  M'Gan.    See  her  affidavit,  page  220. 
Wl;at  house  she  refers  to  I  cannot  conjecture. 


SEQUEL. 


275 


ihe  sale  of  some  articles,  and  had  a  husband  who 
carried  on  some  similar  kind  of  business  at  the 
Scotch  mountain.  Through  her  husband,  as  I  sup- 
pose, she  had  my  message  conveyed,  and  soon  in- 
formed me  that  arrangements  were  made  for  my 
commencing  my  journey,  under  the  care  of  the  per- 
son to  whom  it  had  been  sent. 


xi' 


-> 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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114  IU& 


.* 


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FhotogFaphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14SS0 

(716)872-4S03 


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II 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Singular  concurrence  of  citcumstances,  which  enabled  me  to 
get  to  the  United  States — Intentions  in  going  there^ Com- 
mence my  journey— Fears  0/ my  companion — Stop  at  White- 
hall—Injury  received  in  a  canal  boat — Arrival  at  New  York 
—A  solitary  retreat. 

It  is  remarkable  that  I  was  able  to  stay  so  long 
in  the  midst  of  Catholics  without  discovery,  and  at 
last  obtain  the  aid  of  some  of  them  in  effecting  my 
flight.  There  is  probablj?-  not  a  person  in  Montreal, 
who  would  sooner  have  betrayed  me  into  the  ppwer 
of  the  priests  than  that  woman,  if  she  had  known 
my  history. 

She  was  a  frequent  visiter  at  the  Convent  and  the 
Seminary,  and  had  a  ticket  which  entitled  her  every 
Monday  to  the  gift  of  a  loaf  of  bread  from  the  for- 
mer. She  had  an  unbounded  respect  for  the  Supe- 
rior and  the  priests,  and  seized  every  opportunity 
to  please  them.  Now  the  fact  that  she  was  willing 
to  take  measures  to  facilitate  my  departure  from 
Montreal,  afforded  sufficient  evidence  to  me  of  her 
entire  ignorance  of  myself,  in  all  respects  in  which 
I  could  wish  her  to  be  ignorant ;  and  I  confided  in 
her,  because  I  perceived  that  she  felt  no  stronger 
motive,  than  a  disposition  to  oblige  my  mother. 

Should  any  thing  occur  to  let  her  into  the  secret 
of  my  being  a  fugitive  from  the  Black  Nunnery,  I 
knew  that  I  could  not  trust  to  her  kindness  for  an 


■-(W4.'..».n-^.-jl.' 


S£(|U£L. 


277 


instant.  The  discovery  of  that  fact  would  transform 
her  into  a  bitter  and  deadly  enemy.  She  would  at 
once  regard  me  as  guilty  of  mortal  sin,  an  apostate, 
and  a  proper  object  of  persecution.  And  this  was  a 
reflection  I  had  often  reason  to  make,  when  thin  kino- 
of  the  numerous  Catholics  around  me.  How  im- 
portant, then,  the  keeping  of  my  secret,  and  my  es- 
cape before  the  truth  should  become  known,  even  to 
a  single  person  near  me. 

I  could  realize,  from  the  dangers  through  which 
I  was  brought  by  the  hand  of  God,  how  difficult  it 
must  be,  in  most  cases,  for  a  fugitive  from  a  nunne 
ry  to  obtain  her  final  freedom  from  the  power  of  her 
enemies.  Even  if  escaped  from  a  Convent,  so  long 
as  she  remains  among  Catholics,  she  is  in  constant 
exposure  to  be  informed  against ;  especially  if  the 
news  of  her  escape  is  made  public,  which  fortunate- 
ly was  not  the  fact  in  my  case.      , 

If  a  Catholic  comes  to  the  knowledge  of  any  fact 
calculated  to  expose  such  a  person,  he  will  think  it 
his  duty  to  disclose  it  at  confession ;  and  then  the 
whole  fraternity  will  be  in  motion  to  seize  her. 

How  happy  for  me  that  not  a  suspicion  was  en- 
tertained concerning  me,  and  that  not  a  whisper 
against  me  was  breathed  into  the  ear  of  a  single 
priest  at  confession ! 

Notwithstanding  my  frequent  appearance  m  the 
streets,  my  removals  from  place  to  place,  and  the 
various  exposures  I  had  to  discovery,  contrary  to 
my  fears,  which  haunted  me  even  in  my  dreams,  I 
was  preserved ;  and  as  I  have  often  thought,  for  the 
2* 


'^ 


•  \ 


II 


'W! 


i  ! 


i  I  .< 


W  i 


.if  - 


III  ^  I 


If 


!■ 


i;^. 


i 


1 

I 
f 


278 


APPENDIX. 


M; 


t  It 


:  i, 


I     '  : 


;^  I 


.  li 


i.ij; 


purpose  of  making  the  disclosures  which  I  have 
made  in  this  volume.  No  power  but  that  of  God, 
as  I  have  frequently  thought,  could  ever  have  led 
me  in  safety  through  so  many  dangers. 

1  would  not  have  my  readers  imagine,  however, 
that  I  had  at  that  period  any  thought  of  making 
known  my  history  to  the  world,  I  wished  to 
plunge  into  the  deepest  possible  obscurity  ;  and  next 
to  the  fear  of  falling  again  into  the  hands  of  the 
priests  and  Superior,  I  shrunk  most  from  the  idea 
of  having  others  acquainted  with  the  scenes  I  had 
passed  through.  Such  a  thought  as  publishing 
never  entered  my  mind  till  months  after  that  time. 
My  desire  was,  that  I  might  meet  a  speedy  death  in 
obscurity,  and  that  my  name  and  my  shame  might 
perish  on  earth  together.  As  for  my  future  doonn, 
I  still  looked  forward  to  it  with  gloomy  apprehen- 
sions :  for  I  considered  myself  as  almost,  if  not 
quite,  removed  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy.  During 
all  the  time  which  had  elapsed  since  1  left  the  Con- 
vent, I  had  received  no  religious  instruction,  nor 
even  read  a  word  in  the  scriptures ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  nc-t  wonderful  that  I  should  still  have  remained 
under  the  delusions  in  which  I  had  been  educated. 

The  plan  arranged  for  the  commencement  of  my 
journey  \vas  this :  I  was  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  Longueil,  to  meet  the  man  who  was  to  accom- 
pany me.  The  woman  who  had  sent  my  message 
into  the  country,  went  with  me  to  the  ferry,  and 
crossed  the  river,  where,  according  to  appointment, 
we  found  my  companion.     He  willingly  undertook 


V;: . 


n 


SEQUEL* 


279 


to  accompany  me  to  the  place  of  my  destmation, 
and  at  his  own  expense ;  but  declared,  that  he  was 
apprehensive  we  should  be  pursued.  To  avoid  the 
priests,  who  he  supposed  would  follow  us,  he  took 
an  indirect  route,  and  during  about  twelve  days,  or 
nearly  that,  which  we  spent  on  the  way,  passed 
over  a  much  greater  distance  than  was  necessary. 
It  would  be  needless,  if  it  were  possible,  to  mention 
all  the  places  we  visited.  We  crossed  Carpenter's 
ferry,  and  were  at  Scotch-mountain  and  St.  Alban's ; 
arrived  at  Champlain  by  land,  and  there  took  the 
steamboat,  leaving  it  again  at  Burlington. 

As  we  were  riding  towards  Charlotte,  my  com- 
panion entertained  fears,  which,  to  me,  appeared  ri- 
diculous :  but  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  reason 
him  out  of  them,  or  to  hasten  our  journey.     Cir- 
cumstances which  appeared  to  me  of  no  moment 
whatever,  would  often  influence,  and  sometimes 
make  him  change  his  whole  plan  and  direction. 
As  we  were  one  day  approaching  Charlotte,  for  in- 
stance, on  inquiring  of  a  person  on  the  way,  whether 
there  were  any  Canadians  there,  and  being  inform- 
ed there  were  not  a  few,  and  that  there  was  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest  residing  there,  he  immediately  de- 
termined to  avoid  the  place,  and  turned  back,  al- 
though we  were  then  only  about  nine  miles  distant 
from  it. 

During  several  of  the  first  nights  after  leaving 
Montreal,  he  suffered  greatly  from  fear;  and  on 
meeting  me  in  the  morning,  repeatedly  said :  "  Well, 
thank  God,  we  are  safe  so  far !"     When  we  arrived 


M ' 


!l! 


n 


I ' 


iiit 


•I  \ 


'ill  i,',,r 


m\im 


)■ 


M, 


11:1 


si 


I'f 


V 


.1  3 


I 

I  i 


i' ' ! 


;: 


I 


rl 


1,11 
ill 

't  •  I  * 


ji     ;, 

I 

H  •  > 


I 


i  ' 


11 


'■i 


n 


!■■ 


■  I 


"ill 


ii 


' 


H., 


I'  Ml 


r:i!' 


I 


280 


APPENDIX. 


at  Whitehall,  he  had  an  idea  that  we  should  run  9 
risk  of  meeting  priests,  who,  he  thought,  were  in 
search  of  us,  if  we  Avent  immediately  on ;  and  ir* 
sisted  that  we  had  better  stay  there  a  little  time,  un- 
til they  should  have  passed.  In  spite  of  my  anxiety 
to  proceed,  we  accordingly  remained  there  about  a 
week ;  when  we  entered  a  canal-boat  to  proceed  to 
Troy. 

An  unfortunate  accident  happened  to  me  while  or 
our  way.  I  was  in  the  cabin,  when  a  gun,  which 
had  been  placed  near  me,  was  started  from  its  place 
by  the  motion  of  the  boat,  caused  by  another  boat 
running  against  it,  and  striking  me  on  my  left  side, 
threw  me  some  distance.  The  shock  was  violent, 
and  I  thought  myself  injured,  but  hoped  the  effects 
would  soon  pass  off.  I  was  afterward  taken  with 
vomiting  blood ;  and  this  alarming  symptom  several 
times  returned ;  but  I  was  able  to  keep  up. 

We  came  without  any  unnecessary  delay  from 
Troy  to  New  York,  where  we  arrived  in  the  morn- 
ing, either  on  Thursday  or  Friday,  as  I  believe : 
but  my  companion  there  disappeared  without  in- 
forming me  w^here  he  was  going,  and  I  saw  him  no 
more.  Being  now,  as  I  presumed,  beyond  the  reach 
of  my  enemies,  I  felt  relief  from  the  fear  of  being 
carried  back  to  the  nunnery,  and  sentenced  to  death 
or  the  cells :  but  I  was  in  a  large  city  where  I  had 
not  a  friend.  Feeling  overwhelmed  with  my  mis- 
erable condition,  I  longed  for  death ;  and  yet  I  felt 
no  desire  to  make  another  attempt  to  destroy  myself 

On  the  contrary,  I  determined  to  seek  some  soli- 


8EQUBI. 


281 


tary  retreat,  and  await  God*s  time  to  remove  me 
from  a  world  in  which  I  had  found  so  much  trou- 
ble, hoping  and  believing  that  it  would  not  be  long. 
Not  knowing  which  way  to  go  to  find  solitude,  I 
spoke  to  a  little  boy  whom  I  saw  on  the  wharf,  and 
told  him  I  would  give  him  some  money  if  he  would 
lead  me  into  the  "iwsA."     (This  is  the  common 
word  by  which,  in  Canada,  w^e  speak  of  the  woods 
or  forests.)     When  he  understood  what  I  meant, 
he  told  me  that  there  was  no  bush  about  New  York ; 
but  consented  to  lead  me  to  the  most  lonely  place  he 
knew  of.     He  accordingly  set  off,  and  I  followed 
him,  on  a  long  w^alk  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city, 
and  beyond,  until  we  reached  the  outskirts  of  it 
Turning  off  from  the  road,  we  gained  a  little  hol- 
low, where  were  a  few  trees  and  bushes,  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  any  house ;  and  there,  he  told 
me,  was  the  loneliest  place  with  which  he  was  ac- 
quainted.    I  paid  him  for  his  trouble  out  of  the 
small  stock  of  money  T  had  in  my  possession,  and 
let  him  go  home,  desiring  him  to  come  the  next  day, 
and  bring  me  something  to  eat,  with  a  few  pennies 
which  I  gave  him. 

24* 


{ V  fr 


^p 


ii' 


iiH'  ' 


mi 


I'' . 


^i 


mil 


m 


" 


Hi 


< .  i 


t!i. 


1,1. 


i'M 


hi  '■ '  { 


^U 


Wili 


t  i! ' 

■  Mir 


ft 


)■  ', 


1     i 


»2. 


CHAPTER  V. 

lieflectiona  and  sorrows  in  solitude — Night—Fears — J£xjjo« 
sure  to  rain—Discovered  by  strangers— Their  umeelcome 
kindness—  Taken  to  the  Bellevue  Almshouse. 

There  I  found  myself  once  more  alone,  and 
truly  it  was  a  great  relief  to  sit  down  and  feel  that  I 
was  out  of  the  reach  of  priests  and  nuns,  and  in  a 
spot  w^here  I  could  patiently  wait  for  death,  when 
God  might  please  to  send  it,  instead  of  being  abused 
and  tormented  according  to  the  caprices  and  pas- 
sions of  my  persecutors. 

But  then  again  returned  most  bitter  anticipations 
of  the  future.  Life  had  no  attractions  for  me,  for  it 
must  be  connected  with  shame;  but  death,  under 
any  circumstances,  could  not  be  divested  of  horrors, 
so  long  as  I  believed  in  the  doctrines  relating  to  it 
which  had  been  inculcated  upon  me. 

The  place  where  I  had  taken  up,  as  I  supposed, 
my  last  earthly  abode,  was  pleasant  in  clear  and 
mild  weather ;  and  I  spent  most  of  my  time  in  as 
much  peace  as  the  state  of  my  mind  would  permit. 
I  saw  houses,  but  no  human  beings,  except  on  the 
side  of  a  little  hill  near  by,  where  were  some  men 
at  work,  making  sounds  like  those  made  in  ham- 
mering stone.  The  shade  around  me  was  so  thick 
that  I  felt  assured  of  being  sufficiently  protected 
from  observation  if  I  kept  still ;  and  a  cluster  of 
bushes  ofTered  me  a  shelter  for  the  night.     As  even- 


V-H 


\\V 


SEQUEL. 


283 


ing  approached,  I  was  somewhat  alarmed  by  the 
Bound  of  voices  near  me,  and  I  found  that  a  num- 
ber of  labourers  were  passing  that  way  from  their 
work.  I  went  in  a.  fright  to  the  thickest  of  the 
Dushes,  and  lay  down,  until  all  again  was  still,  and 
rtien  ventured  out  to  take  my  seat  again  on  the  turf. 

Darkness  now  came  gradually  on ;  and  with  it, 
fears  of  another  description.  The  thought  struck 
me  that  there  might  be  wild  beasts  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood, ignorant  as  I  then  was  of  the  country; 
and  the  more  I  thought  of  it,  the  more  I  became 
alarmed.  I  heard  no  alarming  sound,  it  is  true ;  but 
I  knew  not  how  soon  some  prowling  and  ferocious 
oeast  might  come  upon  me  in  my  defenceless  con- 
dition, and  tear  me  in  pieces.  I  retired  to  my 
bushes,  and  stretched  myself  under  them  upon  the 
ground :  but  I  found  it  impossible  to  sleep ;  and  my 
mind  was  almost  continually  agitated  by  thoughts 
on  the  future  or  the  past, 

In  the  morning  the  little  boy  made  his  appearance 
again,  and  brought  me  a  few  cakes  which  he  had 
purchased  for  me.  He  showed  much  interest  in  me, 
inquired  why  I  did  not  live  in  a  h.  u^e ;  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  I  could  satisfy  him  to  let  me  re- 
main in  my  solitary  and  exposed  condition.  Under- 
standing that  I  wished  to  continue  unknown,  he  as- 
sured me  that  he  had  not  told  even  his  mother  about 
me;  and  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  faithfully 
kept  my  secret  to  the  last.  Though  he  lived  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  my  hiding-place,  and,  as  I 
supposed,  far  down  in  the  city,  he  visited  me  almost 


.'I  1 
i 


J  t  (I 


ti  II 


l!\ 


T'i, 


If 


i ,  ■ ,( 
\ 

V 


' 


.    '  I. 


'  n 


,Mi 


)■   '  !. 


V    ( 


*■   'i 


■i    i 


1         !•■ 


10 


:    i< 


; 


:r 


.1 


,  J     If' 


284 


APPENDIX. 


every  day,  even  when  I  had  not  desired  him  to  bring 
me  any  thing.  Several  times  I  received  from  hira 
some  small  supplies  of  food  for  the  money  I  had 
given  him.  I  once  gave  him  a  half-dollar  to  get 
changed ;  and  he  brought  me  back  every  penny  of 
it,  at  his  next  visit. 

As  I  had  got  my  drink  from  a  brook  or  pool, 
which  was  at  no  great  distance,  he  brought  me  a 
little  cup  one  day  to  drink  out  of;  I  ut  this  I  was 
not  allowed  to  keep  long,  for  he  soon  after  told  me 
that  his  mother  wanted  it,  and  he  must  return  it. 
He  several  times  arrived  quite  out  of  breath,  and 
when  I  inquired  the  reason,  calling  him  as  I  usually 
did,  "  Little  Tommy,"  he  said  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  run,  and  to  stay  but  a  short  time,  that  he 
might  be  at  school  in  good  season.  Thus  he  con- 
tinued to  serve  me,  and  keep  my  secret,  at  great  in- 
convenience to  himself,  up  to  the  last  day  of  my 
stay  in  that  retreat;  and  I  believe  he  would  have 
done  so  for  three  months  if  I  had  remained  there. 
I  should  like  to  see  him  again,  and  hear  his  broken 
English. 

^  I  had  now  abundance  of  time  to  reflect  on  mv 
lost  condition;  and  many  a  bitter  thought  passed 
through  my  mind,  as  I  sat  on  the  ground,  or  strolled 
about  by  day,  and  lay  under  the  bushes  at  night. 

Sometimes  I  reflected  on  the  doctrines  I  had 
heard  at  the  nunnery,  concerning  sins  and  penances, 
Purgatory  and  Hell ;  and  sometimes  on  my  late 
companions,  and  the  crimes  I  had  witnessed  in  the 
Convent 


SEQUEL. 


285 


Sometimes  I  would  ait  and  seriously  consider 
how  I  might  best  destroy  my  life ;  and  sometimes 
would  sing  a  few  of  the  hymns  with  which  I  was 
familiar :  but  I  never  felt  willing  or  disposed  to  pray, 
as  I  supposed  there  was  no  hope  of  mercy  for  me. 

One  of  the  first  nights  I  spent  in  that  houseless 
condition  was  stormy;  and  though  I  crept  under 
the  thickest  of  the  bushes,  and  had  more  protection 
against  the  rain  than  one  might  have  expected,  I 
was  almost  entirely  wet  before  morning;  and,  it 
may  be  supposed,  passed  a  more  uncomfortable 
night  than  usual.  The  next  day  I  was  happy  to 
find  the  weather  clear,  and  was  able  to  dry  my  gar- 
ments by  taking  off  one  at  a  time,  and  spreading 
them  on  the  bushes.  A  night  or  two  after,  how- 
ever, I  was  again  exposed  to  a  heavy  rain,  and  had 
the  same  process  afterward  to  go  through  with: 
but  what  is  remarkable,  I  took  no  cold  on  either  oc- 
casion ;  nor  did  I  suffer  any  lasting  injury  from  all 
the  exposures  I  underwent  in  that  place.  The  in- 
conveniences I  had  to  encounter,  also,  appeared  to 
me  of  little  importance,  not  being  sufficient  to  draw 
off  my  mind  from  its  own  troubles;  and  I  had  no 
intention  of  seeking  a  more  comfortable  abode,  still 
looking  forward  only  to  dying  as  soon  as  God  would 
permit,  alone  and  in  that  spot. 

One  day,  however,  when  I  had  been  there  about 
ten  days,  I  was  alarmed  at  seeing  four  men  ap- 
proaching me.  All  of  them  had  guns,  as  if  out  on  a 
shooting  excursion.  They  expressed  much  surprise 
and  pity  on  finding  me  there,  and  pressed  me  with 


:lll 


I'lil'l 


V.^  ' 


u ;, 


I'l 


I 


H''  ■  ■ 


,jl 


!M*i 


'  !; 


i^  i 


\\i 


I 


286 


APFENJIX. 


questions.  I  would  not  give  them  any  satisfactory 
account  of  myself,  my  wants,  or  intentions,  being 
only  anxious  that  they  might  withdraw.  I  found 
them,  however,  too  much  interested  to  render  me 
some  service  to  be  easily  sent  away;  and  after 
some  time,  thinking  there  would  be  no  other  way, 
I  pretended  to  go  away  not  to  return.  .After  going 
some  distance,  and  remaining  some  time,  thinking 
they  had  probably  left  the  place,  I  returned ;  but  to 
my  mortification  found  they  had  concealed  them- 
selves to  see  whether  I  would  come  back.  They 
now,  more  urgently  than  before,  insisted  on  my  re- 
moving to  some  other  place,  where  I  might  be  com- 
fortable. They  continued  to  question  me;  but  I 
became  distressed  in  a  degree  I  cannot  describe, 
hardly  knowing  what  I  did.  At  last  I  called  the 
oldest  gentleman  aside,  and  told  him  somethii.g  of 
my  history.  He  expressed  great  interest  for  me, 
ofTered  to  take  me  anywhere  I  would  tell  him,  and 
at  last  insisted  that  I  should  go  with  him  to  his  own 
house.  All  thtse  ofTers  I  refused ;  on  which  one 
proposed  to  take  me  to  the  Almshouse,  and  even  to 
carry  me  by  force  if  I  would  not  go  willingly. 

To  this  I  at  length  consented ;  but  some  delay 
took  place,  and  I  became  unwilling,  so  that  with 
reluctance  I  was  taken  to  that  institution,  which 
was  about  half  a  mile  distant.* 

♦  See  the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Hilliker,  page  243.  The  letter  to 
which  he  refers  I  had  forgotten  to  mention.  It  contained  a 
short  account  of  the  crimes  I  had  witnessed  in  the  nunnery, 
and  was  written  on  paper  which  "  little  Tommy**  had  bought 
forme,  . 


•«♦ 


CHAPTER    VI. 

litctjAion  at  the  Almshouse— Message  from  Mr.  Conroy,  alio* 
man  priest  in  New  York— His  invitations  to  a  private  inters 
view — His  claims,  propositions,  and  threats—Mr.  Kelly^t 
message— Effects  of  reading  the  Bible. 

I  WAS  now  at  once  made  comfortable,  and  attend 
ed  with  kindness  and  care.     It  is  not  to  be  expect 
ed  in  such  a  place,  where  so  many  poor  and  suffer 
ing  people  are  collected,  and  duties  of  a  difFicuit 
nature  are  to  be  daily  performed  by  those  engaged 
in  the  care  of  the  institution,  that  petty  vexations 
should  not  occur  to  individuals  of  all  descriptions. 

But  in  spile  of  all,  I  received  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy from  several  persons  around  me,  to  whom  I 
feel  thankful. 

I  was  standing  one  day  at  the  window  of  the 
room  number  twenty-six,  which  is  at  the  end  of  the 
hospital  building,  when  I  saw  a  spot  I  once  visited 
in  a  little  walk  I  took  from  my  hiding-place.  My 
feelings  were  different  now  in  some  respects,  from 
what  they  had  been;  for,  though  I  suffered  much 
from  my  fears  of  future  punishment,  for  the  sin  of 
breaking  my  Convent  vows,  I  had  given  up  the  in- 
tention of  destroying  my  life. 

After  I  had  been  some  time  in  the  Institution,  I 
found  it  was  reported  by  some  about  me,  that  I  waa 
a  fugitive  nun ;  and  it  was  not  long  after,  that  an 


III 


"  i  ' 


II     • 


!     r 


i . 


■  ] 


W'^ 


;(.,.! 


288 


APPENDIX. 


lit] 


Ul 


:i-r  H-t't 


in  li 


H 


Irish  woman,  belonging  to  the  institution,  brought 
me  a  secret  message,  which  caused  me  some  agita- 
tion. 

I  was  sitting  in  the  room  of  Mrs.  Johnson,  tJie 
matron,  engaged  in  sewing,  when  that  Irish  woman, 
employed  in  the  institution,  came  in  and  told  me 
that  Mr.  Conroy  was  below,  and  had  sent  to  see  me. 
I  was  informed  that  he  was  a  Roman  priest,  who 
often  visited  the  house,  and  he  had  a  particular  wish 
to  see  me  at  that  time;  having  come,  as  I  believe, 
expressly  for  that  purpose.  I  showed  unwillingness 
to  comply  with  such  an  invitation,  and  did  not  go. 
The  woman  told  me  further,  that  he  sent  me  word 
that  I  need  not  think  to  avoid  him,  for  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  do  so.  I  might  conceal  myself 
as  well  as  I  could,  but  I  should  be  found  and  taken. 
No  matter  where  I  went,  or  what  hiding-place  I 
might  choose,  I  should  be  kno\vn ;  and  I  had  better 
come  at  once.  He  knew  who  I  was ;  and  he  was 
authorized  to  take  me  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  if  I 
should  prefer  to  join  them.  He  would  promise  that 
I  might  stay  with  them  if  I  chose,  and  be  permitted 
to  remain  in  New  York.  He  sent  me  word  fur- 
ther, that  he  had  received  full  power  and  authority 
over  me  from  the  Superior  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nun- 
nery of  Montreal,  and  was  able  to  do  all  that  she 
could  do ;  as  her  right  to  dispose  of  me  at  her  will 
had  been  imparted  to  him  by  a  regular  writing  re- 
ceived from  Canada.  This  was  alarming  informa- 
tion for  me,  in  the  weakness  in  which  I  was  at  that 
lime.     The  woman  added,  that  the  same  authority 


^ir 


il, 


■  * 


8EQVSL. 


1^9 


had  been  given  to  all  the  priests ;  so  that,  go  where 
I  might,  I  should  meet  men  informed  about  me  and 
my  escape,  and  fully  empowered  to  seize  me  wher- 
ever they  could,  and  convey  me  back  to  the  Convent, 
from  which  I  had  escaped. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
the  offer  to  place  me  among  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
with  permission  to  remain  in  New  York,  was  mild 
and  favourable.  However,  I  had  resolution  enough 
to  refuse  to  see  the  priest  Conroy. 

Not  long  afterward,  I  was  informed  by  the  same 
messenger,  that  the  priest  was  again  in  the  building, 
and  repeated  his  request.     I  desired  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen connected  with  the  institution,  that  a  stop 
might  be  put  to  such  messages,  as  I  wished  to  re- 
ceive no  more  of  them.     A  short  time  after,  how- 
ever, the  woman  told  me  that  Mr.  Conroy  wished 
to  inquire  of  me,  whether  my  name  was  not  St.  Eus- 
tace while  a  nun,  and  if  I  had  not  confessed  to  Priest 
Kelly  in  Montreal.    I  answered,  that  it  was  all  true ; 
for  I  had  confessed  to  him  a  short  time  while  in  the 
nunnery.     I  was  then  told  again  that  the  priest 
wanted  to  see  me,  and  I  sent  back  word  that  I  would 
see  him  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Tappan,  or  Mr. 
Stevens ;  which,  however,  was  not  agreed  to ;  and 
I  was  afterward  informed,  that  Mr.  Conroy,  the 
Roman  priest,  spent  an  hour  in  a  room  and  a  pas- 
sage where  I  had  frequently  been ;  but  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  I  was  employed  in  another  place  at 
that  time,  and  had  no  occasion  to  go  where  I  should 
have  met  him.    I  afterward  repeatedly  heard,  that 
25 


MI:' 


if 


i  ■>  h 


!ifll/!5 


ii>< ' 


I,  ^"  r 


I' . 


•  -i 


!  I 


.   i 


I  1  i 


\'.\ 


If- 


I 


■i 


I   ) 


"    15 


•I 


I 


;'«>  ■  ■: 


[  I    fi: 


rii 


290 


APFENBIX. 


Mr.  Conroy  continued  to  visit  the  house^  and  to  ask 
for  me ;  but  I  never  saw  him.  I  once  had  deter- 
mined to  leave  the  institution,  and  go  to  the  Sisters 
of  Charity ;  but  circumstances  occurred  which  gave 
me  time  for  further  reflection;  and  I  was  saved 
from  the  destruction  to  which  J  should  have  been 
exposed. 

As  the  period  of  my  accouchement  approached,  I 
sometimes  thought  that  I  should  not  survive  it ;  and 
then  the  recollection  of  the  dreadful  crimes  I  had 
witnessed  in  the  nunnery  would  come  upon  me 
very  powerfully,  and  I  would  think  it  a  solemn 
duty  to  disclose  them  before  I  died.  To  have  a 
knowledge  of  those  things,  and  leave  the  world 
without  making  them  known,  appeared  to  me  like  a 
great  sin :  whenever  I  could  divest  myself  of  the 
impression  made  upon  me,  by  the  declarations  and 
arguments  of  the  Superior,  nuns,  and  priests,  of  the 
duty  of  submitting  to  every  thing,  and  the  necessary 
holiness  of  whatever  the  latter  did  or  required. 

The  evening  but  one  before  the  period  which  I 
anticipated  with  so  much  anxiety,  I  was  sitting 
alone,  and  began  to  indulge  in  reflections  of  this 
kind.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  must  be  near  the 
close  of  my  life,  and  I  determined  to  make  a  disclo- 
sure at  once.  I  spoke  to  Mrs.  Ford,  a  woman 
whose  <>.haracter  I  respected,  a  nurse  in  the  hospital, 
in  number  twenty-three.  I  informed  her  that  I  had 
no  expectation  of  living  long,  and  had  some  things 
on  my  mind  which  I  wished  to  communicate  before 
it  should  be  too  late.    I  added,  that  I  should  prefer 


BXQUEL. 


291 


to  tell  them  to  Mr.  Tappan,  the  chaplain,  of  which 
she  approved,  as  she  considered  it  a  duty  to  do  so 
tinder  those  circumstances.  I  had  no  opportunity, 
however,  to  converse  with  Mt.  T.  at  that  time,  and 
probably  my  purpose,  of  disclosing  the  facts  already 
^iven  in  this  book,  would  never  have  been  executed 
but  for  what  subsequently  took  place. 

It  was  alarm  which  had  led  me  to  form  such  a 
determination ;  and  when  the  period  of  trial  had 
been  safely  passed,  and  I  had  a  prospect  of  recov- 
ery, any  thing  appeared  to  me  more  likely  than 
that  I  should  make  this  exposure. 

I  was  then  a  Roman  Catholic,  at  least  a  great 
'part  of  my  time ;  and  my  conduct,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, was  according  to  the  faith  and  motives  of  a 
Roman  Catholic.     Notwithstanding  what  I  Icnew 
of  the  conduct  of  so  many  of  the  priests  and  nuns,  I 
thought  that  it  had  no  effect  on  the  sanctity  of  the 
Church,  or  the  authority  or  effects  of  the  acts  per- 
formed by  the  former  at  the  mass,  confession,  &c. 
I  had  such  a  regard  for  my  vows  as  a  nun,  that  I 
considered  my  hand  as  well  a|  my  heart  irrevoca 
bly  given  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  could  never  have  al 
lowed  any  person  to  take  it.     Indeed,  to  this  day,  I 
feel  an  instinctive  aversion  to  offering  my  hand,  or 
taking  the  hand  of  another  person,  even  as  an  ex- 
pression of  friendship.     1  also  thought  that  I  might 
Boon  return  to  the  Catholics,  although  fear  and  dis- 
gust held  me  back.     I  had  now  that  infant  to  think 
for,  whose  life  I  had  happily  saved  by  my  timely 
/escape  from  the  nunnery  ]  and  what  its  fate  might 


■4  '• 


1    < 


\'  I  [^ 


I       ! 


W       ■ 


1 


M: 

m 


!   1^ 
I) 


:.si  ^! 


:t"! 


l-  ft 


/: 


W 


I ; 


ti 


I  ' 


:    i! 


1 


i    i  '! 


292 


APPENDIX 


be,  in  case  it  should  ever  &11  into  the  power  of  the 
priests,  I  could  not  tell. 

I  hadt  however,  reason  for  alarm.  Would  a 
child  destined  to  destruction,  like  the  infants  I  had 
seen  baptized  and  smothered,  be  allowed  to  go 
through  the  world  unmolested,  a  living  memorial 
of  the  truth  of  crimes  long  practised  in  security,  be- 
cause never  exposed  ?  What  pledges  could  I  get 
to  satisfy  me,  that  I,  on  whom  her  dependance  must 
be,  would  be  spared  by  those  who  I  had  reason  to 
think  were  then  wishing  to  sacrifice  me?  How 
could  I  trust  the  helpless  infant  in  hands  which  had 
hastened  the  baptism  of  many  such,  in  order  to  hur- 
ry them  to  the  secret  pit  in  the  cellar  1  Could  I 
suppose  that  Father  Phelan^  Priest  of  the  Parish 
Church  of  Montreal,  would  see  his  own  child  grow- 
ing up  in  the  world,  and  feel  w^illing  to  run  the  risk 
of  having  the  truth  exposed  1  What  could  I  expect, 
especially  from  him,  but  the  utmost  rancour,  and  the 
most  determined  enmity  against  the  innocent  child 
and  its  abused  and  defenceless  mother  ? 

Yet,  my  mind  would  sometimes  still  incline  in 
the  opposite  direction,  and  indulge  the  thought,  that 
perhaps  the  only  way  to  secure  heaven  to  us  both, 
was  to  throw  ourselves  back  into  the  hands  of  the 
Church,  to  be  treated  as  she  pleased.  When,  there- 
fore, the  fear  of  immediate  death  was  removed,  I 
renounced  all  thoughts  of  communicating  the  sub- 
stance of  the  facts  in  this  volume.  It  happened, 
however,  that  my  danger  was  not  passed.    I  was 


StQVEl. 


29S 


aoon  seized  with  very  alarming  symptoms ;  then  my 
desire  to  disclose  my  story  revived. 

I  had  before  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  in  pri- 
vate mth  the  chaplain ;  but,  as  it  was  at  a  time 
when  I  supposed  myself  out  of  danger,  1  had  defer- 
red for  three  days  my  proposed  communication, 
thinking  that  I  might  yet  avoid  it  altogether.  When 
my  symptoms,  however,  became  more  alarming,  I 
was  anxious  for  Saturday  to  arrive,  the  day  which 
I  had  appointed ;  and  when  I  had  not  the  opportu- 
nity on  that  day,  which  I  desired,  I  thought  it  might 
be  too  late.  I  did  not  see  him  till  Monday,  when 
my  prospects  of  surviving  were  very  gloomy ;  and 
Ithen  informed  him  that  I  wished  to  communicate 
to  him  a  few  secrets,  which  were  likely  otherwise 
to  die  with  me.  I  then  told  him,  that  while  a  nun 
m  the  Convent  of  Montreal,  I  had  witnessed  the 
murder  of  a  nun,  called  Saint  Francis,  and  of  at 
least  one  of  the  infants  which  I  have  spoken  of  in 
this  book.  I  added  some  few  circumstances,  and  I 
believe  disclosed,  in  general  terms,  some  of  the  other 
crimes  I  knew  of  in  that  nunnery. 

My  anticipations  of  death  proved  to  be  unfounded ; 
for  my  health  afterward  improved,  and  had  I  not 
made  the  confessions  on  that  occasion,  it  is  very 
possible  I  never  might  have  made  them.  I,  how- 
ever, afterward,  felt  more  willing  to  listen  to  instruc- 
tion, and  experienced  friendly  attentions  from  some 
of  the  benevolent  persons  around  m^  who,  taking 
an  interest  in  me  on  account  of  my  iarkened  ««• 
25* 


■ri 


'\\ 


i     rl 


# 


Vh: 


i^'ik  'fl 


I    i 


m^ 


\r\'\  i 


■ .    11' 


■  \ 


\ 


■!' 


294 


APPENDIX. 


deratanding,  furnished  me  with  the  BiUe,  and  were 
ever  ready  to  counsel  me  when  I  desired  it. 

I  soon  began  to  believe  that  God  might  have  in- 
tended that  his  creatures  should  learn  his  will  by 
reading  his  word,  and  taking  upon  them  the  free 
exercise  of  their  reason,  and  acting  under  respon- 
sibility to  him. 

It  is  difficult  for  one  who  has  never  given  way  to 
such  arguments  and  influences  as  those  to  which 
i  had  been  exposed,  to  realize  how  hard  it  is  to 
think  aright  after  thinking  wrong.  The  Scriptures 
always  affect  me  powerfully  when  I  read  them ;  but 
I  feel  that  I  have  but  just  begun  to  learn  the  great 
truths,  in  which  I  ought  to  have  been  early  and 
thoroughly  instructed.  I  realize,  in  some  degree, 
how  it  is,  that  the  Scriptures  render  the  people  of 
the  United  States  so  strongly  opposed  to  such  doc- 
trines as  are  taught  in  the  Black  and  the  Congre- 
gational Nunneries  of  Montreal.  The  priests  and 
nuns  used  often  to  declare,  that  of  all  heretics,  the 
children  from  the  United  States  were  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  be  converted ;  and  it  was  thought  a  great 
triumph  when  one  of  them  was  brought  over  to  **  the 
true  &ith.''  The  first  passage  of  Scripture  that 
made  any  serious  impression  upon  my  mind,  was 
the  text  on  which  the  chaplain  preached  on  the  Sab- 
bath after  my  introduction  into  the  house — **  Search 
the  Scriptures." 

I  made  some  hasty  notes  of  the  thoughts  to  which 
It  gaye  rise  in  my  mmd,  and  often  recurred  to  the 
•object    Yet  I  sometimes  questioned  the  justice  of 


=  f 


eSQVBL. 


295 


the  views  I  began  to  entertain,  and  was  ready  to 
condemn  myself  for  giving  my  mind  any  liberty  to 
seek  for  information  concerning  the  foundation  of 
my  former  fiuth. 


t 

-.1  • 

I     , 


■      j 


w 

■J 

,1 


P* 


W.; 


H 


ru 


I'l  \i 


»■•  i 


M'r 


I 


■II  n 


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•  ' 


'Mm 


i;r 


t   ! 


iiJ  . 


;'■! 


Ji|  !'i 


i'!|  .»|!  ,i 


II 


1     i 


I't 


;i(  t; 


;fir 


• 


'in 


M^* 


«l^ 


'*i 


■  .* 


;  t- 


j 


i  i 
1 


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IM; 


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.'V 


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i  y 


« 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Proposition  to  go  to  Montreal  and  tettify  against  the  prieoto-' 
Commencement  of  my  journey— Stop  at  Troy^  WkUehaU^ 
Burlington^  St.  Alban^a^  Plattshurgh^  and  St.  John*a — Ar- 
rival  at  Montreal— Reflections  on  passing  the  Nunnery^  &c. 

About  a  fortnight  aflcr  I  had  made  the  disclo- 
sures mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  Mr.  Hoyt  called 
at  the  Hospital  to  make  inquiries  about  me.  I  was 
introduced  to  him  by  Mr.  Tappan.  After  some  con- 
versation, he  asked  me  if  I  would  consent  to  visit 
Montreal,  and  give  my  evidence  against  the  priesta 
and  nuns  before  a  court.  I  immediately  expressed 
my  willingness  to  do  so,  on  condition  that  I  should 
be  protected.  It  immediately  occurred  to  me,  that 
I  might  enter  the  nunnery  at  night,  and  bring  out 
the  nuns  in  the  cells,  and  possibly  Jane  Ray,  and 
that  they  would  confirm  my  testimony.  In  a  short 
time,  arrangements  were  made  for  our  journey,  I 
was  furnished  with  clothes;  and  although  my 
strength  was  as  yet  but  partially  restored,  I  set  off 
in  pretty  good  spirits. 

Our  journey  was  delayed  for  a  little  time,  by  Mr. 
Hoyt's  waiting  to  get  a  companion.  He  had  en- 
gaged a  clergyman  to  accompany  us,  as  I  under- 
stood, who  was  prevented  from  going  by  unexpect- 
ed  business.  We  went  to  Troy  in  a  steamboat; 
and,  while  there,  I  had  several  interviews  with 
some  gentlemen  who  were  informed  of  my  history, 


T 


SiaUBL. 


29' 


") 


t  I 


and  wished  to  see  me.  They  appeared  to  be  deep.y 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  my  testimony; 
and  on  their  recommendation  it  was  determined  that 
we  should  go  to  St.  Alban's,  on  our  way  to  Mon- 
treal, to  get  a  gentleman  to  accompany  us,  whose 
advice  and  assistance,  as  an  experienced  lawyer, 
were  thought  to  be  desirable  to  us  in  prosecuting 
the  plan  we  had  in  view :  viz.  the  exposure  of  the 
crimes  with  which  I  was  acquainted. 

We  travelled  from  Troy  to  Whitehall  in  a  canal 
packet,  because  the  easy  motion  was  best  adapted 
to  my  state  of  health.  We  met  on  board  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Sprague  of  New  York,  with  whom  Mr.  Hoyt 
was  acquainted,  and  whom  he  tried  to  persuade  to 
accompany  us  to  Montreal.  From  Whitehall  to 
Burlington  we  proceeded  in  a  steamboat ;  and  there 
I  was  so  much  indisposed,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
call  a  physician.  After  a  little  rest,  we  set  off  in 
the  stage  for  St.  Alban's ;  and  on  arriving,  found 
that  Judge  Turner  was  out  of  town.  We  had  to 
remain  a  day  or  two  before  he  returned ;  and  then 
he  said  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  accompa- 
ny us.  After  some  deliberation,  it  was  decided 
that  Mr.  Hunt  should  go  to  Montreal  with  us,  and 
that  Judge  Turner  should  follow  and  join  us  there 
as  soon  as  his  health  and  business  would  permit.* 

We  therefore  crossed  the  lake  by  the  ferry  to 
Plattsburgh,  where,  after  some  delay,  we  embarked 

*  Mr.  Hunt  was  recommended  as  a  highly  respectable  law- 
yer;  to  whose  kindness,  as  well  as  that  of  Judge  Turoor,  I  feel 
nqrealf  under  oblieationa. 


!  '     ' 


.| 


m 


I";   :.'»li' 


:.:t 


(. ,! 


ii    t 


!M 


W 


','  '■  1  '  '  '      f 


•   i 


t    I 


U« 


t'i 


I  1  'HI  -'! 


1    lit 
J    It 


iH 


II 


mi 


298 


APPENDIX. 


in  a  steamboat,  which  took  us  to  St.  John's.  Mr. 
Hunt,  who  had  not  reached  the  ferry  early  enough 
to  cross  with  us,  had  proceeded  on  to  •  •  *,  and 
there  got  on  board  the  steamboat  in  the  night.  We 
went  on  to  Laprairie  with  little  delay,  but  finding 
that  no  boat  was  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence  at  that 
place  during  the  day,  we  had  to  take  another  pri 
vate  carriage  to  Longueil,  whence  we  were  rowed 
across  to  Montreal  by  three  men,  in  a  small  boat. 

I  had  felt  quite  bold  and  resolute  when  I  first 
consented  to  go  to  Montreal,  and  also  during  my 
journey :  but  when  I  stepped  on  shore  in  the  city,  I 
thought  of  the  different  scenes  I  had  witnessed  there, 
and  of  the  risks  I  might  run  before  I  should  leave 
it.  We  got  into  a  caleche,  and  rode  along  towards 
the  hotel  where  we  were  to  stop.  We  passed  up 
St.  Paul's  street ;  and,  although  it  was  dusk,  I  re- 
cognised every  thing  I  had  known.  We  came  at 
length  to  the  nunnery ;  and  then  many  recollections 
crowded  upon  me.  First,  I  saw  a  window  from 
which  I  had  sometimes  looked  at  some  of  the  dis- 
tant  houses  in  that  street ;  and  I  wondered  whether 
some  of  my  old  acquaintances  were  employed  as 
formerly.  But  I  thought  that  if  I  were  once  with- 
in those  walls,  I  should  soon  be  in  the  cells  for 
the  remainder  of  my  life,  or  perhaps  be  condemned 
to  something  still  more  severe.  I  remembered  the 
murder  of  St.  Francis,  and  the  whole  scene  returned 
to  me  as  if  it  had  just  taken  place ;  the  appearance, 
language,  and  conduct  of  the  persons  most  active  in 
ter  destruction.     Those  persons  were  npw  all  near 


\V^^-' 


8BQUBL. 


U99 


}h6  And  would  use  all  exertions  they  safely  mighty 
to  get  me  again  into  their  power. 

And  certainly  they  had  greater  reason  to  be  ex- 
asperated against  me,  than  against  that  poor  help- 
less nun,  who  had  only  expressed  a  wish  to  e;^ 
cape.* 

When  I  found  myself  safely  in  Goodenough*s 
hotel,  in  a  retired  room,  and  began  to  think  alone, 
the  most  gloomy  apprehensions  filled  my  mind.  I 
could  not  eat,  I  had  no  appetite,  and  I  did  not  sleep 


'If  '• 


it 


'  •' 


*  My  gloomy  feelings  however  did  not  always  prevail.  I  had 
hopes  of  obtaining  evidence  to  prove  my  charges.  I  proposed 
to  my  companions  to  be  allowed  to  proceed  that  evening  to  ex- 
ecute the  plan  I  had  formed  when  a  journey  to  Montreal  had 
first  been  mentioned.  This  vras,  to  follow  the  physician  into 
the  nunnery,  conceal  myself  under  the  red  calico  sofa  in  the 
sitting-room,  find  my  way  into  the  cellar  after  all  was  still,  re- 
lease the  nuns  from  their  cells,  and  bring  them  out  to  confirm 
my  testimony.  I  was  aware  that  there  were  hazards  of  my  not 
succeeding,  and  that  I  must  forfeit  my  life  if  detected— but  I 
was  desperate ;  and  feeling  as  if  I  could  not  long  live  in  Mon- 
treal, thought  I  might  as  well  die  one  way  as  another,  and  that 
I  had  better  die  in  the  performance  of  a  good  deed.  I  thought 
of  attempting  to  bring  out  Jane  Ray— but  that  seemed  quite  out 
of  the  question,  as  an  old  nun  is  commonly  engaged  in  cleaning 
B  community-room,  through  which  I  should  have  to  pass ;  and 
how  could  I  hope  to  get  into,  and  out  of  the  sleeping-room  un- 
observed? I  could  not  even  determine  that  the  imprisoned 
nuns  would  follow  me  out— for  they  might  be  afraid  to  trust 
me.  However,  I  determined  to  try,  and  presuming  my  com- 
panions had  ail  along  understood  and  approved  my  plan,  told 
them  I  was  ready  to^o  at  once.  I  was  chagrined  and  mortified 
more  than  I  can  express,  when  they  objected,  and  almost  re- 
fused to  permit  me.  I  insisted  and  urged  the  importance  of  the 
stop— but  they  represented  its  extreme  rashness.  This  conduct 
of  theu«,  for  a  time  diminished  my  confidence  in  them,  althongli 
everybody  else  has  approved  of  it 


m 


800 


APPENDIX. 


t,  I 


r  •)• 


I    ^ 


U'l' 


all  night.  Every  painful  scene  I  had  ever  passed 
through,  seemed  to  return  to  my  mind ;  and  such 
was  my  agitation,  I  could  fix  my  thoughts  upon 
nothing  in  particular.  I  had  left  New  York  when 
the  state  of  my  health  was  far  from  heing  established ; 
and  my  strength,  as  may  be  presumed,  was  now 
much  reduced  by  the  fatigue  of  travelling.  I  shall 
be  able  to  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  feelings  with 
which  I  passed  that  night,  but  must  leave  it  to  the 
imagination  of  my  readers.  Now  once  more  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Convent,  and  surrounded  by 
the  nuns  and  priests,  of  whose  conduct  I  had  made 
the  first  disclosures  ever  made,  surrounded  by  thou* 
sands  of  persons  devoted  to  them,  and  ready  to  pro- 
ceed to  any  outrage,  as  I  feared,  whenever  their  in- 
terference might  be  desired,  there  was  abundant  rea- 
son for  my  uneasiness. 

I  now  began  to  realize  that  I  had  some  attach- 
ment  to  life  remaining.  When  I  consented  to  visit 
the  city,  and  furnish  the  evidence  necessary  to  lay 
open  the  iniquity  of  the  Convent,  I  had  felt,  in  a 
measure,  indifferent  to  life :  but  now,  when  torture 
and  death  seemed  at  hand,  I  shrunk  from  \l  For 
myself,  life  could  not  be  said  to  be  of  much  value. 
How  could  I  be  happy  with  such  things  to  reflect 
upon  as  I  had  passed  through  ?  and  how  could  1 
enter  society  with  gratification  7  But  my  infant  I 
could  not  abandon,  for  who  would  care  for  it  if  its 
mother  died  ? 

I  was  left  alone  in  the  morning  by  the  gentlemen 
who  had 'accompanied  me,  as  they  went  to  take  im- 


it 


•li 


;\  ' 


■■QVBL. 


301 


mediate  measures  to  open  the  intended  investigation. 
Being  alone,  I  thought  of  my  own  position  in  every 
point  of  view,  until  I  became  more  agitated  than 
ever.  I  tried  to  think  whac  persons  I  might  safely 
apply  to  as  friends;  and,  though  still  undecided 
what  to  do,  I  arose,  thinking  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
remain  any  longer  exposed,  as  I  imagined  myselC 
to  be  known  and  seized  by  my  enemies. 

I  went  from  the  hotel,*  hurried  along,  feeling  as 
if  I  were  on  my  way  to  some  asylum,  and  thinking 
I  would  first  go  to  the  house  where  I  had  several 
times  previously  found  a  temporary  refuge.  I  did 
not  stop  to  reflect  that  the  woman  was  a  devoted 
Catholic  and  friend  to  the  Superior;  but  thought 
only  of  her  kindness  to  me  on  former  occasions,  and 
hastened  along  N6tre  Dame  street.  But  I  was  ap- 
proaching the  Seminary;  and  a  resolution  was 
suddenly  formed  to  go  and  ask  the  pardon  and  in- 
tercession of  the  Superior.  Then  the  character  of 
Bishop  Lartique  seemed  to  present  an  impassible 
obstacle;  and  the  disagreeable  aspect  and  harsh 
voice  of  the  man,  as  I  recalled  him,  struck  me  with 
horror.  I  recollected  him  as  I  had  known  him 
when  engaged  in  scenes  concealed  from  the  eye  of 

*^— --■  -  I _  _  _  _        II  ■-     .  ■  ^ 

*  It  occurred  to  me,  that  I  might  have  been  seen  by  some 
person  on  landin;;,  who  might  recognise  me  if  I  appeared  in 
the  streets  in  the  same  dress;  and  I  requested  one  of  the  female 
servants  to  lend  me  some  of  hers.  I  obtained  a  hat  and  shawl 
from  her,  with  which  I  left  the  house.  When  I  found  myself 
in  N6tre  Dame  street,  I  felt  the  utmost  indecision  what  to  do, 
and  the  thought  of  my  friendless  condition  almost  overpower- 
ed me. 

26 


1 


■  i 


(I 


t 


w 


■  I 


1  !■'    1 


i. 


i 


II   ; 


n        \ 


■:H',:;w 


i    1 


^.ni 


in; 


ii'n 


in 


I 


A 


k 


\n : 


it  [ 

;   I; 


302 


APPENDIX. 


the  world.  The  thought  of  him  made  me  decide 
not  to  enter  the  Seminary.  I  hurried,  therefore,  by 
the  door ;  and  the  great  church  being  at  hand,  my 
next  thought  was  to  enter  there.  I  reached  the 
steps,  walked  in,  dipped  my  finger  into  the  holy 
water,  crossed  myself,  turned  to  the  first  image  I 
saw,  which  was  that  of  Saint  Magdelen,  threw  my- 
self upon  my  knees,  and  began  to  repeat  prayers 
with  the  utmost  fervour.  I  am  certain  that  I  never 
felt  a  greater  desire  to  find  relief  from  any  of  the 
Saints ;  but  my  agitation  hardly  seemed  to  subside 
during  my  exercise,  which  continued,  perhaps,  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  or  more.  I  then  rose  from  my 
knees,  and  placed  myself  under  the  protection  of 
St.  Magdelen  and  St.  Peter  by  these  words :  "  Je  me 
mets  sous  voire  protection''^ — (I  place  myself  under 
your  protection;)  and  added,  ^^ Saint e  Marie,  men 
du  hon  pasteury  prie  pour  moi^^ — (Holy  Mar)% 
mother  of  the  good  shepherd,  pray  for  me.) 

I  then  resolved  to  call  once  more  at  the  house 
where  I  had  found  a  retreat  after  my  escape  from 
the  nunnery,  and  proceeded  along  the  streets  in  that 
direction.  On  my  way,  I  had  to  pass  a  shop  kept 
by  a  woman*.  I  formerly  had  an  acquaintance  with. 
She  happened  to  see  me  passing,  and  immediately 
said,  "  Maria,  is  that  you  ?     Come  in.'' 

I  entered,  and  she  soon  proposed  to  me  to  let  her 
go  and  tell  my  mother  that  I  had  returned  to  the 
city.     To  this  I  objected.     I  went  with  her,  how- 

^i^— —»——»«-«— .———  ' 

*  This  was  Mrs.  Tarbert. 


SEQUEL. 


303 


ever,  to  the  house  of  one  of  her  acquaintances  near 
by,  where  I  remained  some  time,  during  which  she 
went  to  my  mother's,  and  came  with  a  request  from 
her,  that  I  would  have  an  interview  with  her,  pro- 
posing" to  come  up  and  see  me,  and  saying  that  she 
had  something  very  particular  to  say  to  me.  What 
this  was,  I  could  not  with  any  certainty  conjecture. 
I  had  my  suspicions  that  it  might  be  something 
from  the  priests,  designed  to  get  me  back  into  their 
power,  or,  at  least,  to  suppress  my  testimony. 

I  felt  an  extreme  repugnance  to  seeing  my 
mother,  and  in  the  distressing  state  of  apprehension 
and  uncertainty  in  which  I  was,  could  determine  on 
nothing,  except  to  avoid  her.  I  therefore  soon  left 
the  house,  and  walked  on  without  any  particular 
object.  The  weather  was  then  very  unpleasant,  and 
it  was  raining  incessantly.  To  this  I  was  very  in- 
different, and  walked  on  till  I  had  got  through  the 
suburbs,  and  found  myself  beyond  the  windmills. 
Then  I  returned,  and  passed  back  through  the  city, 
still  not  recognised  by  anybody. 

I  once  saw  one  of  my  brothers,  unless  I  was 
much  mistaken,  and  thought  he  knew  me.  If  it 
was  he,  I  am  confident  he  avoided  me,  and  that  was 
my  belief  at  the  time,  as  he  went  into  a  yard  with 
the  appearance  of  much  agitation.  I  continued  to 
walk  up  and  down  most  of  the  day,  fearful  of  stop- 
ping anywhere,  lest  I  should  be  recognised  by  my 
enemies,  or  betrayed  into  their  power.  I  felt  all  the 
distress  of  a  feeble,  terrified  woman,  in  need  of  pro- 
tection, and,  as  I  thought,  without  a  friend  in  whom 


I 


•\w. 


■;'.;i. 


ill.,. 


'i  ■/ 


304 


APPENDIX. 


I     ! 


ii  :   ■  t    J" 


i  .    n 


I  could  safely  confide.  It  distressed  me  extremely 
to  think  of  my  poor  babe ;  and  I  had  now  been  so 
long  absent  from  it,  as  necessarily  to  suffer  much 
inconvenience. 

I  recollected  to  have  been  told,  in  the  New  York 
Hospital,  that  laudanum  would  relieve  distress  both 
bodily  and  mental,  by  a  woman  who  had  urged  me 
to  make  trial  of  it.  In  my  despair,  I  resolved  to 
make  an  experiment  with  it,  and  entering  an  apoth- 
ecary's shop,  asked  for  some.  The  apothecary  re- 
fused to  give  me -any;  but  an  old  man  who  was 
there,  told  me  to  come  in,  inquired  where  I  had  been, 
and  what  was  the  matter  with  me,  seeing  that  I  was 
quite  wet  through.  I  let  him  know  that  I  had  an 
infant,  and  on  his  urging  me  to  tell  more,  I  told  him 
where  my  mother  lived.  He  went  out,  and  soon 
after  returned,  accompanied  by  my  mother,  who 
told  me  she  had  my  child  at  home,  and  pressed  me 
to  go  to  her  house  and  sec  it,  saying  she  would  not 
insist  on  my  entering,  but  would  bring  it  out  to  me. 

I  consented  to  accompany  her ;  but  on  reaching 
the  door,  she  began  to  urge  me  to  go  in,  saying  I 
should  not  be  known  to  the  rest  of  the  family,  but 
might  stay  there  in  perfect  privacy.  I  was  resolved 
not  to  comply  with  this  request,  and  resisted  all  her 
entreaties,  though  she  continued  to  urge  me  for  a 
long  time,  perhaps  half  an  hour.  At  length  she  went 
in,  and  I  walked  away,  in  -a  state  no  less  desperate 
than  before.  Indeed,  night  was  now  approaching, 
the  rain  continued,  and  I  had  no  prospect  of  food, 
rest,  or  even  shelter.     I  went  on  till  I  reached  the 


mM 


SEQUSL. 


305 


"v     >      ! 


parade-ground,  unnoticed,  I  believe,  by  anybody, 
except  one  man,  who  asked  where  I  was  going,  but 
to  whom  I  gave  no  answer.  I  had  told  my  mother, 
before  she  left  me,  that  she  might  find  me  in  the 
parade-ground.  There  I  stopped,  in  a  part  of  the 
open  ground  where  there  was  no  probability  of  my 
being  observed,  and  stood  thinking  of  the  many  dis- 
tressing things  which  harassed  me;  suffering,  in- 
deed, from  exposure  to  wet  and  cold,  but  indifferent 
to  them  as  evils  of  mere  trifling  importance,  and 
expecting  that  death  would  soon  ease  me  of  my 
present  sufferings.  I  had  hoped  that  my  mother 
would  bring  my  babe  to  me  there ;  but  as  it  was 
growing  late,  I  gave  up  all  expectation  of  seeing 
her. 

At  length  she  came,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Hoyt, 
who,  as  I  afterward  learnt,  had  called  on  her  after 
my  leaving  the  hotel,  and,  at  her  request,  had  in- 
trusted my  child  to  her  care.  Calling  again  after 
I  had  left  her  house,  she  had  informed  him  that  she 
now  knew  where  I  was,  and  consented  to  lead  him 
to  the  spot.  I  was  hardly  able  to  speak  or  to  walk, 
in  consequence  of  the  hardships  I  had  undergone ; 
but  being  taken  to  a  small  inn,  and  put  under  the 
care  of  several  women,  I  was  made  comfortablo 
with  a  change  of  clothes  and  a  warm  bed.* 

*  I  afterward  learnt,  that  the  two  gentlemen  who  accompa 
nied  me  from  the  States,  had  been  seeking  me  with  great  anx- 
iety all  day.    I  persisted  in  not  going  to  my  mother's,  and  that 
was  the  reason  why  we  applied  to  strangers  for  a  lodging.    For 
florae  time  it  appeared  doubtful  whether  I  should  find  any  rcfug* 

26* 


^i^i 


V 


! 


.1.,  .  I 
ii*  « -  f 

■',('     _< 

i    '  i 


la  r.  h  i  ' 


306 


APPBNSnL 


for  the  night,  as  several  small  inns  in  the  neighbourhood  proved 
to  be  full.  At  length,  howevert  lodgings  were  obtained  for  me 
in  one,  and  I  experienced  kindness  fjrom  the  females  of  the 
house,  who  put  me  into  a  warm  bed,  and  by  careful  treatment 
soon  rendered  me  more  comfortable.  I  thought  I  heard  the 
voice  of  a  woman,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  whom  I  bad 
seen  about  the  nunnery,  and  ascertained  that  I  was  not  mis* 
taken. 

I  forgot  to  mention,  when  writing  the  "  Sequel,"  that,  while 
preparing  to  leave  this  house  the  next  day,  Mrs.  Tarbert  came 
in  and  spoke  with  me.  She  said,  that  she  had  just  come  from 
the  government-house,  and  asked,  "  What  are  all  those  men  at 
your  mother's  for  1  what  is  going  on  there  V*  I  told  her  I  could 
not  tell.  She  said,  "  Your  mother  wants  to  speak  with  you 
very  much."  I  told  her  I  would  not  go  to  her  house,  for  I 
feared  there  was  some  plan  to  get  me  into  the  hands  of  the 
priests. 

The  inn  in  which  I  was,  is  one  near  the  government-house, 
in  a  block  owned  by  the  Baroness  de  Montenac,  or  the  Baroness 
de  Longeuil,  her  daughter.  I  think  it  must  be  a  respectable 
house,  in  spite  of  what  Mrs.  Tarbert  says  in  her  affidavit.  Mrs 
Taibert  is  the  woman  spoken  of  several  times  in  the  "  Sequel," 
without  being  named ;  as  I  did  not  know  how  to  spell  her  neam 
t3l  her  affidavit  came  oot 


CHAPTER    IX. 


»^:-^ 


'<    /    t 


Rietittd  into  a  hotpUahh  /amilyFluetttating/eeling§—Vl» 
•its  from  several  persoru— Father  Phelan**  declaratioru 
against  me  in  hit  church— Interviewe  with  a  Journeyman 
Cairpmter— Arguments  wiih  him. 


In  the  morning  I  received  an  invitation  to  go  to 
the  house  of  a  respectable  Protestant,  an  old  inhabi- 
tant of  the  city,  who  had  been  informed  of  my  situ- 
ation ;  and  although  I  felt  hardly  able  to  move,  I 
proceeded  thither  in  a  cariole,  and  was  received 
with  a  degree  of  kindness,  and  treated  with  such 
care,  that  I  must  ever  retain  a  lively  gratitude  to- 
wards the  family. 

On  Saturday  I  had  a  visit  from  Dr.  Robertson,  to 
whose  house  I  had  been  taken  soon  after  my  rescue 
from  drowning.  He  put  a  few  questions  to  me,  and 
soon  withdrew. 

On  Monday,  after  the  close  of  mass,  a  Canadian 
man  came  in,  and  entered  into  conversation  with 
the  master  of  the  house  in  an  adjoining  room.  He 
was,  as  I  understood,  a  journeyman  carpenter,  and  a 
Catholic,  and  having  heard  that  a  fugitive  nun  wad 
somewhere  in  the  city,  began  to  speak  on  the  sub- 
ject in  French.  I  was  soon  informed  that  Father 
Phelan  had  just  addressed  his  congregation  with 
much  apparent  excitement  about  myself;  and  thus 
the  carpenter  had  received  his  information.  Father 
Phekn's  words,  according  to  what  I  heard  said  by 


V 


■ill 

1^. 


r-.. 


•r 


'  I 


^UiV^ 


I   i 


::  : 


M 


!  .■, 


!.!■,  ' 


:l 


J 


k  li  '• 


S08 


APPENDIX. 


numerous  witnesses  at  different  times,  must  have 
been  much  like  the  following : — 

"  There  is  a  certain  nun  now  in  this  city,  who 
has  left  our  faith,  and  joined  the  Protestants.  She 
has  a  child,  of  which  she  is  ready  to  swear  I  am 
the  father.  She  would  be  glad  in  this  way  to  take 
away  my  gown  from  me.  If  I  knew  where  to  find 
her,  I  would  put  her  in  prison.  I  mention  this  to 
guard  you  against  being  deceived  by  what  she  may 
say.  The  devil  has  such  a  hold  upon  people  now- 
a-days,  that  there  is  danger  that  some  might  believe 
her  story." 

Before  he  concluded  his  speech,  as  was  declared, 
he  burst  into  tears,  and  appeared  to  be  quite  over- 
come. When  the  congregation  had  been  dismissed, 
a  number  of  them  came  round  him,  and  he  to)d 
some  of  them,  that  I  was  Antichrist ;  I  was  not  a  hu- 
man being,  as  he  w^as  convinced,  but  an  evil  spirit, 
who  had  got  among  the  Catholics,  and  been  admit' 
ted  into  the  nunnery,  where  I  had  learnt  the  rules 
so  that  I  could  repeat  them.  My  appearance,  he  de- 
clared, was  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  as  Antichrist  is 
foretold  to  be  coming,  in  order  to  break  down,  it 
possible,  the  Catholic  religion. 

The  journeyman  carpenter  had  entered  the  house 
where  I  lodged  under  these  impressions,  and  had 
conversed  some  time  on  the  subject,  without  any 
suspicion  that  I  was  near.  After  he  had  railed 
against  me  with  much  violence,  a?  I  afterward 
learned,  the  master  of  the  house  informed  him  that 
he  knew  something  of  the  nun,  and  mentioned  that 


;^^^^^ 


S      .       ! 


8EQVEL. 


309 


8he  charged  the  priests  of  the  Seminary  with  crimes 
of  an  awful  character;  in  reply  to  which  the  carpen- 
ter expressed  the  greatest  disbelief. 

"  You  can  satisfy  yourself,"  said  the  master  of  the 
house,  "  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  step  up  stairs; 
for  she  lives  in  my  family." 

"  I  see  her !"  he  exclaimed — "  No,  I  would  not 
see  the  wretched  creature  for  any  thing.  I  wonder 
you  are  not  afraid  to  have  her  in  your  house — She 
will  bewitch  you  all — The  evil  spirit!" 

After  some  persuasion,  however,  he  came  into  the 
room  where  I  was  sitting,  but  looked  at  me  with 
every  appearance  of  dread  and  curiosity ;  and  his 
exclamations,  and  subsequent  conversation,  in  Ca- 
nadian French,  were  very  ludicrous. 

•*  Eh  bin,"  he  began  on  first  seeing  me,  *•  c'est  ici 
la  malheureuse  ?"  [Well,  is  this  the  poor  crea- 
ture ?]  But  he  stood  at  a  distance,  and  looked  at 
me  with  curiosity  and  evident  fear.  I  asked  him 
to  sit  down,  and  tried  to  make  him  feel  at  his  ease, 
by  speaking  in  a  mild  and  pleasant  tone.  He  soon 
became  so  far  master  of  himself,  as  to  enter  into  con- 
versation. 

"  I  understood,"  said  he,  **  that  she  has  said  very 
hard  things  against  the  priests.  How  can  that  be 
true?"  " I  can  easily  convince  you,"  said  I,  "that 
they  do  what  they  ought  not,  and  commit  crimes  of 
the  kind  I  complain  of.  You  are  married,  I  suppose?" 
He  assented.  *♦  You  confessed,  I  presume,  on  the 
morning  of  your  wedding-day  ?"  He  acknowledg- 
ed that  he  did.     •♦  Then  did  not  the  priest  tell  you 


^•fi! 


1 4 


t 


810 


APPENDIX. 


I 


\i\ 


-  1  .1 


I    ' 


iiji 


I , 


! 


at  confession,  that  he  had  had  intercourse  with  your 
intended  bride,  but  that  it  was  for  her  sanctification, 
and  that  you  must  never  reproach  her  with  it  ?" 
/  This  question  instantly  excited  him,  but  he  did 
not  hesitate  a  moment  to  answer  it.  '*  Yes,"  replied 
he;  "and  that  looks  black  enough."  I  had  put 
the  question  to  him,  because  I  knew  the  practice  to 
which  I  alluded  had  prevailed  at  St.  Denis  while  I 
was  there,  and  believed  it  to  be  universal,  or  at  least 
very  common  in  all  the  Catholic  parishes  of  Cana- 
da. I  thought  I  had  reason  to  presume,  that  every 
Catholic,  married  in  Canada,  had  had  such  expe- 
rience, and  that  an  allusion  to  the  conduct  of  the 
priest  in  this  particular,  must  compel  any  of  them 
to  admit  that  my  declarations  were  far  from  being 
incredible.  This  was  the  effect  on  the  mind  of  the 
simple  mechanic ;  and  from  that  moment  he  made 
no  more  serious  questions  concerning  my  truth  and 
sincerity,  during  that  interview. 

Further  conversation  ensued,  in  the  course  ol 
which  I  expressed  the  willingness  which  I  have  often 
declared,  to  go  into  the  Convent  and  point  out  things 
wnich  would  confirm,  to  any  doubting  person,  the 
truth  of  my  heaviest  accusations  against  the  priests 
and  nuns.  At  length  he  withdrew,  and  aflerward 
entered,  saying  that  he  had  been  to  the  Convent  to 
make  inquiries  concerning  me.  He  assured  me 
that  he  had  been  told  that  although  I  had  once  be> 
longed  to  the  nunnery,  I  was  called  St.  Jacques,  and 
not  St.  Eustace ;  and  that  now  they  would  not  own 
or  recognise  me.     Then  he  began  to  curse  me,  but 


HI,  J:  J 


i;  11 


rvi 


,\^^^" 


SEQUEL. 


311 


yet  sat  down,  as  if  disposed  for  further  conversation. 
It  seemed  as  if  he  was  afiected  by  the  most  contrary 
feelings,  and  in  rapid  succession.  One  of  the  things 
he  said,  was  to  persuade  me  to  leave  Montreal.  "  I 
advise  you,"  said  he,  "  to  go  away  to-morrow."  I 
replied  that  I  was  in  no  haste,  and  might  stay  a 
month  longer. 

Then  he  fell  to  cursing  me  once  more :  but  the 
next  moment  broke  out  against  the  priests,  calling 
them  all  the  names  he  could  think  of  His  passion 
became  so  high  against  them,  that  he  soon  began  to 
rub  himself,  as  the  low  Canadians,  who  are  apt  to 
be  very  passionate,  sometimes  do,  to  calm  their  feel- 
ings, when  they  are  excited  to  a  painful  degree. 
After  this  explosion  he  again  became  quite  tranquil, 
and  turning  to  me  in  a  frank  and  friendly  manner 
said :  "  I  will  help  you  in  your  measures  against 
the  priests :  but  tell  me,  first — you  are  going  to  print 
a  book,  are  you  not  ?"  "  No,"  said  I,  "  I  have  no 
thoughts  of  that." 

Then  he  lefl  the  house  again,  and  soon  returned, 
saying  he  had  been  at  the  Seminary,  and  seen  a  per- 
son who  had  known  me  in  the  nunnery,  and  said 
I  had  been  only  a  novice,  and  that  he  would  not  ac- 
knowledge me  now.  I  sent  back  word  by  him,  that 
I  would  show  one  spot  in  the  nunnery  that  would 
prove  I  spoke  the  truth.  Thus  he  continued  to  go 
and  return  several  times,  saying  something  of  the 
kind  every  time,  until  I  became  tired  of  him.  He 
was  so  much  enraged  once  or  twice  during  some  of 
the  interviews,  that  I  felt  somewhat  alarmed ;  and 


'i(!| 


r-i 
y 


■    ^ 


i  -:  ■'! 


t   ; 


^)']* 


1 


■ta"n 


f  M> 


^.  M 


312 


APPBNDIX. 


>t:i 


'  'i 


"S 


ii     ! 


i 


i  I. 


some  of  the  family  heard  him  swearing  as  he  went 
down  stairs :  **  Ah,  sacre — ^that  is  too  black  1" 

He  came  at  last,  dressed  up  like  a  gentleman,  and 
told  me  he  was  ready  to  wait  on  me  to  the  nunnery. 
I  expressed  my  surprise  that  he  should  expect  me 
to  go  with  him  alone,  and  told  him  I  had  never 
thought  of  going  without  some  protector,  still  assur- 
ing, that  with  any  person  to  secure  my  return,  I 
would  cheerfully  go  all  over  the  nunnery,  and  show 
sufficient  evidence  of  the  truth  of  what  I  alleged. 

My  feelings  continued  to  vary :  I  was  sometimes 
fearful,  and  sometimes  so  courageous  as  to  think  se- 
riously of  going  into  the  Recolet  cuurch  during 
mass,  with  my  child  in  my  arms,  and  calling  upon 
the  priest  to  own  it.  And  this  I  am  confident  I 
should  have  done,  but  for  the  persuasions  used  to 
prevent  me.* 


*  I  did  not  make  up  my  mind,  (so  far  as  I  remember,)  pub- 
licly to  proclaim  \vho  was  the  father  of  my  child,  unless  re- 
quired to  do  so,  until  I  learnt  that  Father  Phelan  had  denied  it 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  Milkman— An  Irishvfoman--DiJlkulty  in  hating  my  A^ 
davit  taken— Legal  objection  to  it  uihen  taken. 

Another  person  who  expressed  a  strong  wish 
to  see  me,  was  an  Irish  milkman.  He  had  heard, 
what  seemed  to  have  been  pretty  generally  reported, 
that  I  blamed  none  but  the  Irish  priests.  He  put 
the  question,  whether  it  was  a  fact  that  I  accused 
nobody  but  Father  Phelan.  I  told  him  it  was  not 
80 ;  and  this  pleased  him  so  well,  that  he  told  me  if 
I  would  stay  in  Montreal,  I  should  have  milk  for 
myself  and  my  child  as  long  as  I  lived,  it  is  well 
known  that  strong  antipathies  have  long  existed  bo* 
tween  French  and  Irish  Catholics  in  that  city.        \ 

The  next  day  the  poor  Irishman  returned,  but  in 
a  very  difierent  state  of  mind.     He  was  present  at 
church  in  the  morning,  he  said,  when  Father  Phe- 
lan told  the  congregation  that  the  nun  of  whom  he 
had  spoken  before,  had  gone  to  court  and  accused 
him ;  and  that  he,  by  the  power  he  possessed,  had 
Aruck  her  powerless  as  she  stood  before  the  judge, 
iko  that  she  sunk  helpless  on  the  floor.  He  express- 
ed, by  the  motion  of  his  hands,  the  unresisting  man* 
ner  in  which  she  had  sunk  under  the  mysterious 
influence,  and  declared  that  she  would  have  died  on 
the  spot,  but  that  he  had  chosen  to  keep  her  alive  that 
she  might  retract  her  false  accusation.     This,  he 
saW,  she  did,  niost  humbly,  before  the  court,  ac 
2f 


1.' 


I  ' 

s         1. 


Mf 


Hi' 


'« 


w 


fl 

■■':  U 


814 


APPENPIX. 


;  • 


l:'i 


'\ll 


'U 


\     ii 


1  ,?- 1 


knowledging  that  she  had  been  paid  a  hundred 
pounds  as  a  bribe. 

The  first  words  of  the  poor  milkman,  on  revisit- 
ing me,  therefore,  were  like  these :  **  That's  to  show 
you  what  power  the  priest  has  I  Didn't  he  give  it  to 
you  in  the  court  ?  It  is  to  be  hoped  you  will  leave 
the  city  now."  He  then  stated  what  he  had  heard 
Father  Phelan  say,  and  expressed  his  entire  convic- 
tion of  its  truth,  and  the  extreme  joy  he  felt  on  disco- 
vering, as  he  supposed  he  had,  that  his  own  priest  was 
innocent,  and  had  gained  such  a  triumph  over  me. 

A  talkative  Irish  woman  also  made  her  appear- 
ance, among  those  who  called  at  the  house,  and  ur- 
ged for  permission  to  see  me.  Said  she,  '*  I  have 
heard  dreadful  things  are  told  by  a  nun  you  have 
here,  against  the  priests ;  and  I  have  to  convince 
myself  of  the  truth.  I  want  to  see  the  nun  you  have 
got  in  your  house."  When  informed  that  I  was  un- 
well, and  not  inclined  at  present  to  see  any  more 
strangers,  she  still  showed  much  disposition  to  ob- 
tain an  interview.  ••  Well,  aint  it  too  bad,"  she  ask- 
ed, "  that  there  should  be  any  reason  for  people  to 
say  such  things  against  the  priests  V  At  length  she 
obtained  admittance  to  the  room  where  I  was,  en- 
tered with  eagerness,  and  approached  me. 

"Arrah,"  she  exclaimed,  "God  bless  you — is 
this  you  9  Now  sit  down,  and  let  me  see  the  child. 
And  is  it  Father  Phelan's,  God  bless  you?  But 
they  say  you  tell  about  murders ;  and  I  want  to 
know  if  they  are  all  committed  by  the  Irish  priests." 
••  Oh  no,"  replied  I,  "  by  no  means."    "  Then  God 


.:    ffi! 


•BQUBL. 


816 


bless  you/'  said  she.  "  If  you  will  live  in  Montreal, 
you  shall  never  want.  I  will  see  that  neither  you 
nor  your  child  ever  want,  for  putting  part  of  the 
blame  upon  the  French  priests.  I  am  going  to 
Fath«^r  Phelan,  and  I  shall  tell  him  about  it.  But 
they  say  you  are  an  evil  spirit.  I  want  to  know 
whether  it  is  so  or  not."  "  Come  here,"  said  I,  "  feel 
me,  and  satisfy  yourself  Besides,  did  you  ever  hear 
of  an  evil  spirit  having  a  child  ?" 

I  heard  from  those  about  me,  that  there  was  great 
difficulty  in  finding  a  magistrate  willing  to  take  my 
affidavit.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  this  was  ow- 
ing to  the  influence  of  the  priests  to  prevent  my 
accusations  against  them  from  being  made  public. 
One  evening  a  lawyer,  who  had  been  employed  for 
the  purpose,  accompanied  me  to  a  French  justice 
with  an  affidavit  ready  prepared  in  English  for  his 
signature,  and  informed  him  that  he  wished  him  to 
admmister  to  me  the  oath.  Without  any  apparent 
suspicion  of  me,  the  justice  said,  "  Have  you  heard 
of  the  nun  who  ran  away  from  the  Convent,  and  has 
come  back  to  tlie  city,  to  bear  witness  against  the 
priests?"  "  No  matter  about  that  now,"  replied  the 
lawyer  hastily ;  "  I  have  no  time  to  talk  with  you — 
you  will  take  this  person's  oath  now  or  not  ?"  He 
could  not  read  a  word  of  the  document,  because  it 
was  not  in  his  own  language,  and  soon  placed  his 
signature  at  the  bottom.  It  proved,  however,  that 
we  had  gained  nothing  by  this  step,  for  the  lawyer 
afterward  informed  us,  that  the  laws  required  the 
affidavit  of  a  nun  and  a  minor  to  be  taken  before  a 
superior  magistrate. 


•II 


!      I 


in 

1'  :i 


i  !!'?!> 


*  • 


ii!;i 


.1 

(I  ■ 


I 


-  ,    !  ( 


!  i    'i 


t    . 


'f'l, 


i[ 


ri 


:|.i 


^iH^lf 


f    1 


i, 


:^' 


m 


I  !. 


ill 


.'    A. 


U'i 


?;■ 


5f:i 
'  f  I 
!       i 


iM( 


i 


CHAPTER  XI 

inUmitfa  vnlh  the  Attorney  Oentral  of  the  Provinee-^AUempt 
to  ahduct  mt—More  interviews— A  mob  excited  against  me 
•^Protected  by  two  soldiers — Convinced  that  an  investigation 
t^my  charges  could  not  be  obtained — Departure  from  Mon- 
treal— Closing  reflections. 

Those  who  had  advised  to  the  course  to  be  pur- 
sued, had  agreed  to  lay  the  subject  before  the  highest 
authorities.    They  soon  came  to  the  conviction  that 
it  would  be  in  vain  to  look  for  any  favour  from  the 
Governor,  and  resolved  to  lay  it  before  the  Attorney 
General  as  soon  as  he  should  return  from  Cluebec. 
After  waiting  for  some  time,  he  returned;  and  I 
was  informed,  in  a  few  days,  that  he  had  appointed 
an  interview  on  the  following  morning.     I  went  at 
the  time  with  a  gentleman  of  the  city,  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  Grant,  a  distinguished  lawyer.     In  a  short 
time  a  servant  invited  us  to  walk  up  stairs,  and  we 
went;  but  after  I  had  entered  a  small  room  at  tiie 
end  of  a  parlour,  the  door  was  shut  behind  me  by 
Mr.  Ogden,  the  Attorney  General.     A  chair  was 
given  me,  which  was  placed  with  the  back  towards 
a  bookcase,  at  which  a  man  was  standing,  apparent- 
ly looking  at  the  books ;  and  besides  the  two  persons 
I  have  mentioned,  there  was  but  one  more  in  the 
room,*  Mr.  Grant,  the  master  of  the  house.    Of  the 
fint  part  of  the  interview  I  shall  not  particularly  speak. 

*  Uokas  another  was  concealed— if  I  luspecttd. 


SEQUEL. 


3ir 


The  two  legal  gentlemen  at  length  began  a  mock 
examination  of  me,  in  which  they  seemed  to  me  to 
be  actuated  more  by  a  curiosity  no  way  commend- 
able, than  a  sincere  desire  to  discover  the  truth,  wri- 
ting down  a  few  of  my  answers.  In  this,  however, 
the  person  behind  me  took  no  active  part.  One  of 
the  questions  put  to  me  was,  "  What  are  the  colours 
of  the  carpet  in  the  Superior's  room?" 

I  told  what  they  were,  when  they  turned  to 
him,  and  inquired  whether  I  had  told  the  truth. 
He  answered  only  by  a  short  grunt  of  assent,  as  if 
afraid  to  speak,  or  even  to  utter  a  natural  tone ;  and 
at  the  same  time,  by  his  hastiness,  showed  that  he 
was  displeased  that  my  answer  was  correct.  I  was 
asked  to  describe  a  particular  man  I  had  seen  in 
the  nunnery,  and  did  so.  My  examiner  partly 
turned  round  with  some  remark  or  question  which 
was  answered  in  a  similar  spirit.  I  turned  and 
looked  at  the  stranger,  who  was  evidently  skulking 
to  avoid  my  seeing  him,  and  yet  listening  to  every 
word  that  was  said.  I  saw  enough  in  his  appear- 
ance to  become  pretty  well  satisfied  that  I  had  seen 
him  before ;  and  something  in  his  form  or  attitude 
reminded  me  strongly  of  the  person  whose  name 
had  been  mentioned.  I  was  then  requested  to  re- 
peat some  of  the  prayers  used  in  the  nunnery,  and 
repeated  part  of  the  office  of  the  Virgin,  and  some 
others. 

'At  length,  after  I  had  been  in  the  little  room,  as  I 
fihould  judge,  nearly  an  hour,  I  was  informed  that 
27* 


•i. 


U 


I 


■V-: 


:bi$ 


APPBMDIX. 


t,  •  r 


i ' ' }' 


if 


n. 


:'. 


the  examination  had  been  satisfactory,  and  that  I 
might  go. 

I  then  returned  home;  but  no  further  step  was 
taken  by  the  Attorney  General,  and  he  refused,  as 
I  understood,  to  return  my  affidavit,  which  had  been 
left  in  his  hands  to  act  upon. 

Besides  the  persons  I  have  mentioned,  I  had  m^ 
terviews  with  numbers  of  others.  I  learnt  from 
some,  that  Father  Phelan  addressed  his  congrega* 
tion  a  second  time  concerning  me,  and  expressly 
forbade  them  to  speak  to  me  if  they  should  have 
an  opportunity,  on  pain  of  excommunication.  It 
was  also  said,  that  he  prayed  for  the  family  I  lived 
with,  that  they  might  be  converted. 

I  repeated  to  several  different  persons  my  willing- 
ness to  go  into  the  nunnery,  and  point  out  visible 
evidences  of  the  truth  of  my  statements ;  and  when 
I  was  told  by  one  man,  who  said  he  had  been  to  the 
priests,  that  I  had  better  leave  the  city,  or  I  would 
be  clapped  into  prison,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I 
should  like  to  be  imprisoned  a  little  while,  because 
then,  I  thought,  I  could  not  be  refused  a  public  ex- 
amination. 

Some  Canadians  were  present  one  day,  when  the 
mistress  of  the  house  repeated,  in  my  presence,  that 
I  was  ready  to  go  into  the  nunnery  if  protected,  and, 
if  I  did  not  convince  others  of  the  truth  of  my  asser* 
lions,  that  I  would  consent  to  be  burned. 

**0  yes,  I  dare  say,"  replied  one  of  the  men-* 
*  tlM  devi)  would  take  her  ofi^she  knows  he  ^ould. 


I 


\    V 


SBtlXIftL. 


Bl^ 


He  would  take  care  of  her — we  should  never  be 
able  to  get  her — ^the  evil  spirit !" 

A  v^roman  present  said — "  I  could  light  the  fire  to 
bum  you,  myself." 

A  woman  of  Montreal,  who  has  a  niece  in  the 
nunnery,  on  hearing  of  what  I  declared  abiut  it, 
said  that  if  it  was  true  she  would  help  tear  it  down. 

Among  those  who  came  to  see  me,  numbers  were 
at  first  as  violent  as  any  I  have  mentioned,  but  after 
a  little  conversation,  became  mild  and  calm.  I  have 
heard  persons  declare,  that  it  would  be  no  harm  to 
kill  me,  as  I  had  an  evil  spirit. 

One  woman  told  me,  that  she  had  seen  Father 
Phelan  in  the  street,  talking  with  a  man,  to  whom 
he  said,  that  the  peopk  were  coming  to  tear  down 
the  house  in  which  I  staid,  intending  afterward  to 
set  fire  to  it  in  the  cellar.  This  story  gave  me  no 
serious  alarm,  for  I  thought  I  could  see  through  it 
evidence  of  an  intention  to  frighten  me,  and  make 
me  leave  the  city.* 

I  was  under  greater  apprehensions,  however,  one 
'day,  in  consequence  of  an  accidental  discovery  of 
a  plan  kid  to  take  me  ofiT  by  force.  I  had  stepped 
into  the  cellar  to  get  an  iron-holder,  when  I  heard 
the  voices  of  persons  in  the  street  above,  and  recog- 

*  I  felt  very  confident,  from  sume  circumstances,  that  this 
woman  had  been  sent  to  bring  such  a  story  by  Father  Phelan  t 
and  such  evidence  of  his  timidity  rather  imboldened  me.  I  was 
in  another  room  when  she  came,  and  heard  her  talking;  on  and 
abusing^  nie ;  theii  comihR  out,  I  said,  "  How  dare  y.iu  say  I  do 
not  speak  the  truth 7"  "God  bless  you,"  said  she,  "sit  down 
Mid  tell  me  all** 


I ) 


4. 


ji^ 


■  ♦, 


■■'7f /T  ^' 


i  i  i  '  i 


i;f 


M 


' 


1 1 


i.lf   iff  -i 


i! 


i' 


'Hi,? 


m\ 


■I 


fin 


f     i! 


i  •■ 


I 

1 


'K 


t:ii 

til; 


f 


t 


^1 


; 


!'■        ,    i 


a- 


I' 


i:k 


t 


1^ 

J 


I 


i 


t 


h'^^ 


*   ! 


I. 

i 

-I  1 


320 


APPENDIX. 


nised  those  of  my  mother  and  the  Irish  woman  her 
friend.     There  was  another  woman  with  them. 

"  You  go  in  and  lay  hold  of  her,"  said  one  voice. 

"  No,  you  are  her  mother — ^you  go  in  and  bring 
her  out — we  will  help  you." 
I  I  was  almost  overcome  with  dread  of  fallmg  into 
their  hands,  believing  that  they  would  deliver  me 
up  to  the  Superior.  Hastening  into  a  room,  I  got 
behind  a  bed,  told  the  lady  of  the  house  the  cause 
of  my  fear,  and  calling  to  a  little  girl  to  bring  me 
my  child,  I  stood  in  a  state  of  violent  agitation. 
Expecting  them  in  the  house  every  instant,  and  fear- 
ing my  infant  might  cry,  and  so  lead  them  to  the 
place  of  my  concealment,  I  put  my  hand  upon  its 
mouth  to  keep  it  quiet. 

It  was  thought  desirable  to  get  the  testimony  of 
the  mistress  of  the  house  where  I  spent  the  night, 
after  my  escape  from  the  nunnery,  as  one  means  of 
substantiating  my  story.  I  had  been  there  the  day 
before  my  visit  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Grant,  accom- 
panied by  a  friend,  and  on  my  first  inquiring  of  her 
about  my  nunnery  dress,  she  said  she  had  carried 
it  to  the  Superior ;  speaking  with  haste,  as  if  she  ap- 
prehended I  had  some  object  very  difl[erent  from 
what  I  actually  had.  It  now  being  thought  best  to 
summon  her  as  a  witness  before  a  magistrate,  and 
not  knowinfir  her  whole  name,  we  set  off  again  to- 
wards he..'  ^^ouse  to  make  inquiry. 

On  our  way  we  had  to  pass  behind  the  parade. 
I  suddenly  heard  an  outcry  from  a  little  gallery  in 
he  rear  of  a  house  which  fronts  another  way,  which 


HI&QtJEIi. 


321 


drew  my  attention.  *•  There's  the  nun,  there's  the 
nun  I"  exclaimed  a  female,  after  twice  clapping  her 
hands  smartly  together,  *♦  There's  the  nun,  there's 
the  nun!" 

I  looked  up,  and  whom  should  I  see  hut  the 
Irishwoman,  who  had  taken  so  active  a  part,  on  se- 
veral occasions,  in  my  affairs,  on  account  of  her 
friendship  for  my  mother — the  same  who  had  ac- 
companied me  to  Longeuil  in  a  hoat,  when  I  set  out 
for  New- York,  after  making  arrangements  for  my 
journey.  She  now  hehaved  as  if  exasperated  against 
me  to  the  utmost ;  having,  as  I  had  no  doubt,  learnt 
the  object  of  my  journey  to  Montreal  since  I  had  last 
spoken  with  her,  and  having  all  her  Catholic  pre- 
judices excited.  She  screamed  out :  "  There's  the 
nun  that's  come  to  swear  against  our  dear  Father 
Phelan.  Arrah,  lay  hold,  lay  hold  upon  her !  Catch 
her,  kill  her,  pull  her  to  pieces." 

And  so  saying  she  hurried  down  to  the  street, 
while  a  number  of  women,  children,  and  some  men, 
came  running  out,  and  pursued  after  me.  I  imme 
diately  took  to  flight,  for  I  did  not  know  what  they 
might  do ;  and  she,  with  the  rest,  pursued  us,  until 
we  reached  two  soldiers,  whom  we  called  upon  to 
protect  us.  They  showed  a  readiness  to  do  so ;  and 
when  they  learnt  that  we  were  merely  going  to  a 
house  beyond,  and  intended  to  return  peaceably, 
consented  to  accompany  us.  The  crowd,  which 
might  rather  be  called  a  mob,  thought  proper  not  to 
offer  us  any  violence  in  the  presence  of  the  soldiers, 
and  after  following  us  a  little  distance,  began  to  drop 


H 


H|l 


-it 


H 


822 


APPENDIX. 


1 1 


•■(  t, 


I'hii 


:u 'i'in^'^H-iri 


1^ 


I- 1 


offf  until  all  had  disappeared.  One  of  the  soldiers, 
however,  soon  afler  remarked,  that  he  observed  a 
man  following  us,  whom  he  had  seen  in  the  crowd, 
and  proposed  that  instead  of  both  of  them  going  be- 
fore us,  one  should  walk  behind,  to  guard  against 
any  design  he  might  have.  This  was  done ;  and 
we  proceeded  to  a  house  near  the  one  where  I 
had  found  a  refuge,  and  afler  obtaining  the  infor- 
mation we  sought,  returned,  still  guarded  by  the 
soldiers. 

All  our  labour  in  this  case,  however,  proved  una- 
vailing ;  for  we  were  unable  to  get  the  woman  to 
appear  in  court. 

At  length  it  was  found  impossible  to  induce  the 
magistrates  to  do  any  thing  in  the  case ;  and  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  my  return  to  New  York. 
While  in  the  ferry-boat,  crossing  from  Montreal  to 
Laprairie,  I  happened  to  be  standing  near  two  little 
girls,  when  I  overheard  the  following  conversation. 
"  Why  do  you  leave  Montreal  so  soon  ?" 
•*  I  had  gone  to  spend  a  week  or  two ;  but  I  heard 
that  Antichrist  was  in  the  city,  and  was  afraid  to  be 
there.  So  I  am  going  right  home.  I  would  not 
be  in  Montreal  while  Antichrst  is  there.  He  has 
come  to  destroy  the  Catholic  religion." 

I  felt  quite  happy  when  I  found  myself  once  more 
safe  in  New- York ;  and  it  has  only  been  since  my 
return  from  Montreal,  and  the  conviction  I  had  there 
formed,  that  it  was  in  vain  for  me  to  attempt  to  get  a 
fair  investigation  into  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  that 
I  seriously  thought  of  publishing  a  book.     Under 


\    ^ 


SEQUEL. 


323 


to  induce  the 


gome  disadvantages  this  volume  has  been  prepared, 
and  unfortunately  its  publication  has  been  delayed 
to  a  season  when  it  will  be  difficult  to  transmit  it 
promptly  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  I  am  sure,  how- 
ever, that  in  spite  of  all,  no  material  errors  will  be 
found  in  it  uncorrected,  though  many,  very  many, 
facts  and  circumstances  might  have  been  added 
which  would  have  proved  interesting.  Indeed  1 
am  persuaded,  from  the  experience  I  have  already 
had,  that  past  scenes,  before  forgotten,  will  continue 
to  return  to  my  memory,  the  longer  I  dwell  upon 
my  convent  life,  and  that  many  of  these  will  tend  to 
jonfirm,  explain,  or  illustrate  some  of  the  statements 
now  before  the  public. 

But  before  I  close  this  little  volume,  I  must  be  in- 
dulged in  saying  a  word  of  myself.  The  narrative 
through  which  the  reader  has  now  passed,  he  must 
not  close  and  lay  aside  as  if  it  were  a  fiction ;  neither 
■vould  I  wish  him  to  forget  the  subject  of  it  as  one  wor  • 
tliy  only  to  excite  surprise  and  wonder  for  a  moment. 


% 


\W. 


% 


•'i 


^ 


CONCLUSION. 


■  h' 


W'l 


■\ 


It  is  desired  that  the  author  of  this  volume  may  be 
regarded,  not  as  a  voluntary  participator  in  the  very 
guilty  transactions  which  are  described;  but  re- 
ceive sympathy  for  the  trials  which  she  has  en- 
dured, and  the  peculiar  situation  in  which  her  past 
experience,  and  escape  from  the  power  of  the  Superior 
of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  at  Montreal,  and  the 
snares  of  the  Roman  priests  in  Canada,  have  left  her 

My  feelings  are  frequently  distressed,  and  agi- 
tated, by  the  recollection  of  what  I  have  passed 
through ;  and  by  night,  and  by  day,  I  have  little 
peace  of  mind,  and  few  periods  of  calm  and  pleas- 
ing reflection.  Futurity  also  appears  uncertain.  I 
know  not  what  reception  this  little  work  may  meet 
with ;  and  what  will  be  the  effect  of  its  publication 
here,  or  in  Canada,  among  strangers,  friends,  or 
enemies.  I  have  given  the  world  the  truth,  so  far 
as  I  have  gone,  on  subjects  of  which  I  am  told  they 
are  generally  ignorant;  and  I  feel  perfect  confi- 
dence, that  any  facts  which  may  yet  be  discovered, 
will  confirm  my  words,  whenever  they  can  be  ob- 
tained. Whoever  shall  explore  the  Hotel  Dieu 
Nunnery,  at  Montreal,  will  find  unquestionable 
evidence  that  the  descriptions  of  the  interior  of  that 
edifice,  given  in  this  book,  were  furnished  by  one 


H 


*  This  was  originally  designed  for  the  Conclusion,  but  was 
made  the  Preface  in  the  first  edition. 


A  \ 


SEQUEL. 


825 


iclusion,  but  wai 


fomlliar  with  them ;  for  whatever  alterations  may  bo 
attempted,  there  are  changes  which  no  mason  or 
carpenter  can  make  and  effectually  conceal ;  and 
therefore,  there  must  be  plentiful  evidence  in  that 
institution  of  the  truth  of  my  description. 

There  are  living  witnesses,  also,  who  6ught  to 
be  made  to  speak,  without  fear  of  penances,  tor- 
tures, and  death ;  and  possibly  their  testimony,  at 
some  future  time,  may  be  added  to  confirm  my  state- 
ments. There  are  witnesses  I  should  greatly  rejoice 
to  see  at  liberty ;  or  rather  there  were.  Are  they 
living  now  ?  or  will  they  be  permitted  to  live  after 
the  Priests  and  Superior  have  seen  this  book  ?  Per 
haps  the  wretched  nuns  in  the  cells  have  already  suf- 
fered for  my  sake— perhaps  Jane  Ray  has  been  silenc- 
ed for  ever,  or  will  be  murdered,  before  she  has  an  op- 
portunity to  add  her  most  important  testimony  to  mina 

But  speedy  death,  in  respect  only  to  this  world, 
can  be  no  great  calamity  to  those  who  lead  the  life 
of  a  nun.  The  mere  recollection  of  it  always  makes 
me  miserable.  It  would  distress  the  reader,  should 
I  repeat  the  dreams  with  which  I  am  often  terri- 
fied at  night;  for  I  sometimes  fancy  myself  pursued 
by  my  worst  enemies ;  frequently  I  seem  as  if  shut 
up  again  in  the  Convent ;  often  I  imagine  myself 
present  at  the  repetition  of  the  worst  scenes  that  I 
have  hinted  at  or  described.  Sometimes  I  stand  by 
the  secret  place  of  interment  in  the  cellar ;  some- 
times I  think  I  can  hear  the  shrieks  of  helpless 
females  in  the  hands  of  atrocious  men ;  and  some- 
times almost  seem  actually  to  look  again  upon  tho 
28 


i  ■ 
I 


'A 


t,; 


'•■1 


i  f' 


ill 


M 


ill 


:•, 


It^'lH 


p'n  :',s 


'I  ; 


!  I 


I 


H  If  t)L^  ^ 


S26 


APPENDIX. 


calm  and  placid  countenance  of  Saint  Francis,  as 
slic  appeared  when  surrounded  by  her  murderers. 

I  cannot  banish  the  scenes  and  characters  of  this 
book  from  my  memory.  To  me  it  can  never  appear 
like  an  amusing  fable,  or  lose  its  interest  and  im* 
portance.  The  story  is  one  which  is  continually 
before  me,  and  must  return  fresh  to  »iy  mind,  with 
painful  emotions,  as  long  as  I  live.  With  time,  and 
Christian  instruction,  and  the  sympathy  and  exam- 
ple of  the  wise  and  good,  I  hope  to  learn  submis- 
sively to  bear  whatever  trials  are  appointed  for  me, 
and  to  improve  under  them  all. 

Impressed  as  I  continually  am  with  the  frightful  re- 
ality of  the  painful  communications  that  I  have  made 
in  this  volume,  I  can  only  offer  to  all  persons  who  may 
doubt  or  disbelieve  my  statements,  these  two  things: — 

Permit  me  to  go  through  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nun- 
nery, at  Montreal,  with  some  impartial  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  that  they  may  compare  my  account  with 
the  interior  parts  of  that  building,  into  which  no  per- 
sons but  the  Roman  Bishop  and  the  priests,*  are  ever 
admitted ;  and  if  they  do  not  find  my  description  true, 
then  discard  me  as  an  impostor.  Bring  me  before  a 
court  of  justice — there  I  am  willing  to  meet  Lartigue, 
Dufresne^  Phelan^  Bonin^  and  Richards^  and  their 
wicked  companions,  with  the  Superior,  and  any  of 
the  nuns,  before  ten  thousand  men. 

Maria  Monk. 

New-Yorkf  lUh  January ^  1836. 


*  I  should  have  added,  and  such  persons  as  they  introduest 


.!■ 


THE  TRUTH 


or  THB 


•AWFUL  DISCLOSURES  BY  MARIA  MONK" 


DEMONSTRATED. 


I  ' 


LRiA  Monk. 


1.  Early  means  used  to  discredit  the  book.  Different  classes 
€/  objectors. — It  was  anticipated  that  persons  who  know  littlo 
or  nothinf;  of  the  changeless  spirit  and  uniform  practices  of  the 
Papal  ecclesiastics,  would  doubt  or  deny  the  statements  which 
Maria  Monk  has  given  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  at  Montreal. 
The  delineations,  if  true,  are  so  loathsome  and  revolting,  that 
they  exhibit  the  principles  of  the  Roman  priesthood,  and  the 
corruption  of  the  monastic  system,  as  combining  a  social  curse, 
which  must  be  extinguished  for  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

From  tlie  period  when  the  intimations  were  fir£<t  published  in 
the  Protestant  Vindicator,  that  a  Nun  had  escaped  from  one  of 
the  Convents  in  Canada,  and  that  a  narrative  of  the  secrets  of 
that  prison-house  for  females  was  preparing  for  the  press ;  at> 
tempts  have  occasionally  been  made  to  prejudice  the  public 
judgment,  by  fulsome  eulogies  of  the  Roman  Priests  and  Nuns, 
as  paragons  of  immaculate  perfection ;  and  also  by  infuriated 
denunciations  and  calumnies  of  all  persons,  who  seriously  be 
lieve  that  every  human  institution  which  directly  violates  the 
constitution  of  nature,  and  the  express  commands  of  God,  must 
necessarily  be  immoral. 

The  system  of  seclusion  and  celibacy  adopted  in  Convents  ia 
altogether  unnatural,  and  subverts  all  the  appointmants  of  Je- 
hovah in  reference  to  the  duties  and  usefulness  of  man :  whila 
the  impenetrable  secrecy,  which  is  the  cement  of  the  gloomy 
superstructure,  not  only  extirpates  every  incentive  to  active  vir- 
tue,  but  unavoidably  opens  the  flood-gates  of  wickedness,  with- 
«ut  restraint  or  remorse,  because  it  secures  entire  impunity. 


1tV 


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828 


APPEXDIX. 


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Since  iho  publication  of  the  "Awful  Dipclosurcs,"  much  so- 
licitude has  been  felt  for  the  result  cf  the  exhibitions  which  they 
present  us :  but  it  is  most  remarkoblc,  that  the  incredulity  is 
confined  almost  exclusively  to  Protestants,  or  at  least,  to  those 
who  pretend  not  to  be  Papists.  The  Roman  Priests  are  too 
crafty  to  engage  directly  in  any  controversy  respecting  the  credi- 
bility of  Maria  Monk's  narrative.  As  long  as  they  can  induce 
the  Roman  Catholics  privately  to  deny  the  statements,  and  to 
vilify  Christians  as  the  inventers  of  falsehoods  concerning  "the 
Holy  Church  and  the  Holy  Priests !"  so  long  will  they  laugh  at 
the.  censures  of  the  Protestonts;  and  as  long  as  they  can  in- 
fluence the  Editors  of  political  papers  vociferously  to  deny 
evangelical  truth,  and  to  decry  every  attempt  to  discover  the 
secrets  of  the  Romish  priestcraft  as  false  and  uncharitable,  so 
long  will  the  Jesuits  ridicule  and  despise  that  increduhty  which 
is  at  once  so  blinding,  deceitful,  and  dangerous. 

The  volume  entitled  "  Awful  Disclosures  by  Maria  Monk," 
has  been  assailed  by  two  classes  of  Objectors.  Some  persons 
affirm  that  they  cannot,  and  that  they  will  not  believe  her  nar- 
rative, because  it  is  so  improbable.  Who  is  to  judge  of  the 
standard  of  improbabilities  1  Assuredly  not  they  who  are  ig- 
norant of  the  whole  subject  to  which  those  improbabilities  ad- 
vert. Now  it  is  certain,  that  persons  who  are  acquainted  with 
Popery,  are  generally  convinced,  and  readily  agree,  that  Maria 
Monk's  narrative  is  very  much  assimilated  to  the  abstract  view 
which  a  sound  judgment,  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
would  form  of  that  antichristian  sysi  ^m,  as  predicted  by  the 
prophet  Daniel,  and  the  apostles,  Peter,  Paul,  and  John. 

2.  The  question  of  Probability. — But  the  question  of  pro- 
babilities may  be  tested  by  another  fact ;  and  that  is  the  full,  un- 
shaken conviction,  and  the  serious  declaration  of  many  persons 
who  have  lived  in  Canada,  that  Maria  Monk's  allegations 
against  the  Roman  Priests  and  Nuns  in  that  province,  are  pre- 
cisely the  counterpart  of  their  ordinary  character,  spirit,  and 
practice.  There  are  many  persons  now  residing  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  who  long  dwelt  in  Montreal  and  Quebec;  and  who 
are  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  affairs  among 
the  Canadian  Papists— and  such  of  them  as  are  known,  with 
scarcely  a  dissenting  voice,  proclaim  the  same  facts  which 
every  traveller,  who  has  any  discernment  or  curiosity,  learns 
when  he  makes  the  northern  summer  tour.  It  is  also  indubi- 
table, that  intelligent  persons  'n  Canada  generally,  especially 


[U 


REVIEW  or  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


829 


Kflidents  in  Montreal  and  Quebec,  who  have  no  inducement 
cither  to  falsify  or  to  conceal  the  truth,  uniformly  testify,  that 
(he  nunneries  in  thos'S  cities  arc  notorious  places  of  resjrt  for 
the  Roman  Priests  for  habitual  and  unrestrained  licentiousness  i 
that,  upon  the  payment  of  the  stipulated  price  to  the  Chaplain, 
other  persons,  in  the  disguise  of  Priests,  are  regularly  admitted 
within  the  Convent  for  the  same  infamous  purpose ;  and  that 
many  Infants  and  Nuns,  in  proportion  to  the  aggregate  amount 
of  the  whole  body  of  females,  are  annually  murdered  and  bu- 
ried within  their  precincts.  AH  this  turpitude  is  as  assuredly 
believed  by  the  vast  mojority  of  the  enlightened  Protestants, 
as  well  as  by  multitudes  of  even  the  Papists  in  Montreal  and 
Quebec,  as  their  own  existence;  and  judging  from  their  declara- 
tions, they  have  no  more  doubt  of  the  fact,  than  they  have  of 
the  summer's  sunshine,  and  the  winter's  frost  and  snow.  Of 
what  value,  therefore,  is  the  cavil  of  ignorance  respecting  im- 
probabilities 1 

But  it  is  also  objected,  that  the  British  government  would  not 
tolerate  such  a  system  of  enormous  wickedness.  To  which  it 
is  replied,  that  the  inordinate  licentiousness  of  the  Roman 
Priests  and  Nuns  in  Canada,  is  demonstrated  to  be  of  long 
etaiiding  by  the  archives  of  that  Province,  as  may  be  seen  in 
Smith's  History  of  Canada ;  year  1733,  Chapter  5,  p.  194. 

The  author  of  that  work  is  Secretary  of  the  Province ;  and 
his  narrative  was  compiled  immediately  from  the  public  docu- 
ments, which  ttie  under  his  official  guardianehip  and  control. 
He  thus  writes :— "  The  irregularities  and  improper  conduct  of 
the  Nuns  of  the  General  Hospital  had  been  the  subject  of  much 
regret  and  anxiety.  Contrary  to  every  principle  of  their  insti- 
tution, they  frequently  accepted  of  invitations  to  dinners  and 
suppers,  and  mixed  in  society,  witnout  considering  the  vows 
which  restricted  them  to  their  Convent.  The  king  of  Franco 
directed  a  letter,  Maurepas'  letter  of  April  9, 1733,  to  be  written 
to  the  Coadjutor  of  Quebec,  by  the  minister  having  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Marine ;  importing  that  the  king  was  much  dis- 
pleased with  the  Nuns— that  regularity  and  order  might  be  .re- 
stored by  reducing  the  Nuns  to  the  number  of  twelve,  accord- 
ing to  their  original  establishment— and  that,  as  the  manage- 
ment and  superintendence  of  the  community  had  been  granted 
to  the  Governor,  Prelate,  and  Intendant,  the  Coadjutor  should 
take  the  necessary  measures  to  prevent  them  ft:om  repeii:^*og 
•ooduct  so  indecent  and  improper,'- 
28* 


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30 


APPENDIX. 


The  entire  affair  seems  to  have  been  this;  that  the  Nuns  of 
Quebec  at  that  period  preferred  the  gallant  military  officers, 
and  their  bewitching  festivities,  to  the  coarser  and  less  diversi- 
fied indulgences  of  the  Jesuits ;  upon  which  the  latter  murmur- 
ed, and  resolved  to  hinder  the  soldiers  from  intruding  into  their 
fold,  and  among  the  cloistered  females,  to  visit  whom  they 
claimed  as  their  own  peculiar  privilege,  inseparably  attached  to 
their  priestly  character  and  ecclesiastical  functions.    It  is  infal- 
libly certain,  that  after  the  lapseof  100  years,  neither  the  Jesuits 
nor  the  Nuns  in  Canada,  are  in  the  smallest  particle  reformed. 
The  British  government,  by  the  treaty  made  upon  the  surren- 
der of  that  province  to  them,  guarantied  to  the  Papal  Ecclesi- 
astics, both  male  and  female,  their  prior  exemptions  and  spe- 
cial immunities.    Many  of  the  officers  of  the  Government  in 
Canada,  who  have  long  resided  there,  are  anxious  to  see  the 
nunneries  and  their  adjuncts  totally  extirpated ;  and  it  may  be 
Gafely  asserted,  that  they  know  the  character  given  of  those  in- 
stitutions by  Maria  Monk  is  a  graphical  picture  of  their  contin* 
nous  doings. 

The  British  government,  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  their 
supremacy  over  the  province,  have  not  only  connived  at  those 
irregularities,  but  have  always  enjoined  that  the  public  sanction 
should  be  given  to  their  puerile  shows,  and  their  pageant,  pom- 
pous processions,  by  the  attendance  of  the  civil  and  military 
officers  upon  them,  and  by  desecrating  the  Lord's  day  with 
martial  music,  &c.  In  this  particular  affair,  the  executive  offi- 
cers of  the  Provincial  Government  are  fully  apprized  of  all  the 
substantial  facts  in  the  case ;  for  an  affidavit  of  the  principal 
circumstances  was  presented  to  Mr.  Ogden,  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral of  Canada,  and  to  Mr.  Grant,  another  of  the  King's  coun- 
sellors ;  and  afterward  Maria  Monk  did  undergo  an  examina- 
tion by  those  gentlemen,  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Grant,  at  Mon- 
treal, in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Comte,  one  of  the  superior  order 
of  Priests  of  that  city ;  and  of  another  Priest,  believed  to  ba 
either  Phelan  or  Dufresne,  who  was  concealed  behind  the  sofa. 
It  is  also  incontrovertible,  that  the  nominal  Papists  in  Cana- 
da, who,  in  reality,  are  often  infidels,  notwithstanding  their  jo- 
cose sneers,  and  affected  contempt,  do  generally  believe  every 
tittle  of  Maria  Monk's  narrative.  This  is  the  style  in  which 
they  talk  of  it.  They  first,  according  to  custom,  loudly  curs« 
the  authors ;  for  to  find  a  Papist  infidel  who  does  not  break 
the  third  eomraandmenr,  is  as  difficult  as  to  point  out  a  moral 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


331 


Roman  Priest  or  a  chaste  Nun.  They  first  swear  at  the  au- 
thor,  and  then,  with  a  hearty  laugh,  add  tho  following  illustra> 
tion :—"  Everybody  knows  that  the  Priests  are  a  jolly  set  of 
fellows,  who  live  well,  and  must  have,  license,  or  they  would 
be  contrary  to  nature.  They  have  the  privilege  of  going  into 
the  nunneries,  and  they  would  be  great  fools  if  they  did  not  use 
and  enjoy  it  1"  Such  is  the  exact  language  which  is  adopted 
among  the  Canadians ;  and  such  are  the  precise  words  which 
have  been  used  by  Canadian  gentlemen  in  New  York,  when 
criticising  Maria  Monk's  volume  It  aflfords  stronger  proof 
than  a  direct  attestation. 

The  other  class  of  persons  who  verily  believe  the  "  Awful 
Disclosures,"  are  the  religious  community  in  Canada.  We  think 
that  scarcely  a  well-informed  person  can  be  discovered  in  Mon- 
treal  or  Quebec,  who  does  not  feel  assured,  that  the  interior  of 
the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  is  most  faithfully  depicted  by  Maria 
Monk.  Many  persons  are  now  inhabitants  of  New- York  who 
formerly  resided  in  Montreal,  some  of  whom  have  been  upon 
termi^  of  familiar  intimacy  for  years  with  those  Roman  Priests, 
who  are  specified  as  the  principal  actors  in  the  scenes  depicted 
in  that  book ;  and  they  most  solemnly  declare,  that  they  hav« 
no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  Maria  Monk's  narrative. 

Mr.  Samuel  B.  Smithy  who  has  been  not  only  a  Roman. 
Priest,  but  has  had  several  cages  of  nuns  under  his  sole  man- 
agement, questioned  Maria  Monk  expressly  respecting  those 
affairs,  customs,  and  ceremonies,  which  appertain  only  to  nun- 
neries, because  they  cannot  be  practised  by  any  other  females 
but  those  who  are  shut  up  in  those  dungeons;  and,  after 
having  rninutely  examined  her,  he  plainly  averred  that  it  was 
manifest  she  could  not  have  known  the  things  which  she  com 
municated  to  him  unless  she  had  been  a  nun ;  not  merely  a 
scholar,  or  a  temporary  resident,  or  even  a  novice,  but  a  nun, 
who  had  taken  the  veil,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  appellative. 
This  testimony  is  of  the  more  value,  because  the  conclusion 
does  not  depend  upon  any  conflicting  statements,  of  partial  or 
prejudicial  witnesses,  but  upon  a  fact  which  is  essential  to  the 
system  of  monachism ;  that  no  persons  can  know  all  the  se- 
crets of  nunneries,  but  the  Chaplain,  the  Abbess,  and  their  ac- 
complices in  that  "  mystery  of  iniquity."  Mr.  Smith's  declar- 
ation in  one  other  respect  is  absolutely  decisive.  He  has  de- 
clared not  only  that  Maria  Monk  has  been  a  nun,  but,  ajso  thai 
the  :lescriptions  which  she  gives  are  most  minutely/  accurate. 


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APPENDIX. 


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Mr.  Smith  also  testifiea  that  the  account  which  Maria  Monk 
gives  of  the  proceedings  of  the  priests,  the  ohscene  ques* 
tions  which  they  ask  young  females,  and  their  lewd  practices 
with  them  at  auricular  confession,  are  constantly  exemplified 
by  the  Roman  Priests  ;  and  he  also  confirms  her  statements, 
by  the  testimony  of  his  own  individual  experience,  and  actual 
personal  acquaintance  with  the  Canadian  nunneries,  as  well  as 
with  those  in  the  United  States,  and  especially  of  that  at  Mon- 
roe, Michigan,  which  was  dissolved  by  Mr.  Fenwick,  on  ac> 
count  of  scandalous  impurity,  only  about  five  years  ago. 

Mrs.  ♦  ♦  *,  a  widow  lady  now  in  Now- York,  who  for- 
merly was  a  Papist  in  Montreal,  and  was  recently  converted  to 
(/hristianity,  solemnly  avers,  that  the  Priest  Richards  himself, 
conducted  her  from  the  Seminary  through  the  subterraneous 
passage  to  the  nunnery,  and  describes  the  whole  exactly  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  statement  of  Maria  Monk. 

JMr.  Lloyd,  who  was  in  business  a  number  of  years  adjacent 
to  the  nunnery,  and  who  is  intimately  acquainted  with  those 
priests,  their  characters,  principles,  and  habits,  avows  his  un- 
qualified conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  "  Awful  Disclosures.'* 

Mr.  Hogan,  who  was  eighteen  months  in  the  Jesuit  Semin- 
ary at  Montreal,  and  in  constant  intercourse  and  attendance 
!ipon  Lartigue  and  his  accomplices,  unequivocally  affirms,  that 
Maria  Monk's  complex  descriptions  of  those  Priests  are  most 
minutely  and  accurately  true. 

One  hundred  other  persons  probably  can  be  adduced,  who, 
during  their  residence  in  Canada,  or  on  their  tours  to  that 
province,  by  inquiries  ascertained  that  things  in  accordance 
with  Maria  Monk's  delineations  are  the  undoubted  belief  of 
each  class  of  persons,  and  of  every  variety  of  condition,  and  in 
all  places  which  they  visited  in  Lower  Canada. 

Mr.  Cfreerifieldt  the  father  of  the  gentleman  who  owns  the 
two  steamboats  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  called  the  Lady  of 
tite  Lake,  and  the  Canadian  Eagle,  who  is  &  citizen  of  New- 
Vork,  avows  his  unoiualified  assent  to  all  Maria  Moi^k's  state- 
m*,nts,  and  most  emphatically  adds— "Maria  Monk  has  not 
dis;losed  one  tenth  part  of  the  truth  respecting  the  Roman 
Priests  and  Nuns  in  Canada"  >'. 

Fifty  other  persons  from  that  province,  now  residing  in  New* 
Vork,  likewise  attest  the  truth  of  the  "  Disclosures." 

At  Sorel,  Berthier,  and  Three  Rivers,  the  usual  stopping  pla> 
for  tbe  steamboats  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  the  Pvestt, 


'  1 


11 


■'•   N 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


333 


if  they  have  any  cause  to  he  at  the  whar^  may  be  seen  acconio 
panieJ  by  one  or  more  children,  their  "  Nephews"  as  the  Priests 
facetiously  denominate  their  offspring ;  and  if  any  person  on 
the  steamboat  should  be  heard  expatiating  upon  the  piety,  the 
temperance,  the  honesty,  or  the  purity  of  Roman  Priests  and 
Nuns,  he  would  be  laughed  at  outright,  either  as  a  natural  or  an 
ironical  jester ;  while  the  priest  himself  would  join  in  the  mer- 
riment, as  being  a  "capital  joke." 

We  are  assured  by  the  most  indisputable  authority  in  Mon- 
treal, that  the  strictly  religious  people  in  that  city  do  generally 
credit  Maria  Monk's  statements  without  hesitation ;  and  the 
decisive  impression  of  her  veracity  can  never  be  removed.  If  it 
were  possible  at  once  to  reform  the  nunneries,  and  to  transform 
them  from  castles  of  ignorance,  uncleanness,  and  murder, 
where  all  their  arts  are  concealed  in  impervious  secrecy,  into 
abodes  of  wisdom,  chastity,  and  benevolence,  to  every  recess  of 
which  all  persons,  at  every  hour,  might  have  unrestricted  ad- 
mission— that  would  not  change  the  past ;  it  would  leave  them 
indelibly  branded  with  the  emphatical  title  applied  to  the  nun- 
nery at  Charlestown,  "  Filthy,  murderous  dens." 

3.  W/io  are  those  who  deny  the  truth  of  the  hook  7  Case  ^ 
Father  Conroy.   leather  Conroy's  deception. 

In  addition  to  the  objections  from  improbability,  another  ae- 
ries of  opposition  consists  of  flat  broad  denials  of  the  truth  of 
Maria  Monk's  "  Awful  Disclosures."  This  mode  of  vanquish- 
iug  direct  charges  is  even  more  invalid  than  the  former  futile  ca- 
valling.  It  is  also  more  remarkable,  when  we  remember  who 
are  the  persons  that  deny  the  statements  made  by  Maria  Monk. 
Are  they  the  Roman  Priests  implicated  1  Not  at  all.  They 
are  too  crafty.  The  only  persons  who  attempt  to  hint  even  a 
suspicion  of  the  truth  of  the  secrets  divulged  in  the  "  Awful  Dis- 
closures," are  editors  of  Newspapers:  some  of  whom  arc  ever 
found  on  the  side  of  infidelity  and  vice;  men  always  reproach- 
ing religion  ;  and  directly  calumniating,  or  scornfully  ridiculing 
the  best  Christians  in  the  land ;  and  profoundly  ignorant  of 
Popery  and  Jesuitism,  and  the  monastic  system. 

It  is  true  that  Priest  Conroy  of  New- York,  has  contradicted 
in  general  terms  the  truth  of  the  statement  respecting  himself, 
and  his  attempt  to  abduct  Maria  Monk  from  the  Almshouse. 
But  what  does  he  deny?  He  is  plainly  charged,  in  the  "Awful 
Disclosures,"  with  a  protracted  endeavour,  by  fraud  or  by  force 
to  remove  Maria  Monk  from  that  institution.     Now  that 


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!  ; 


834 


AFFENDIZ. 


charge  involves  a  flagrant  misdemeanor,  or  it  is  a  wicked  and 
gross  libel.    Let  him  answer  the  following  questions  t 

Did  he  not  frequently  visit  that  house,  and  lurk  about  at  vari- 
ous times,  for  longer  and  shorter  periods,  expressly  to  have  ao 
interview  with  Maria  Monk  1 

Did  he  not  state  that  he  was  acquainted  with  her  by  the  name 
she  bore  in  the  nunnery,  Sainte  Eustace  ? 

Did  he  not  declare  that  he  was  commissioned  by  Lartigue, 
Phelan,  Dufresnc,  Kelly,  and  the  Abbess  of  the  Hotel  Dieu 
Nunnery  at  Montreal,  to  obtain  possession  of  her,  that  she 
might  be  sent  back  to  that  abode  of  the  Furies'? 

Did  he  not  offer  her  any  thing  she  pleased  to  demand,  provi- 
ded she  would  reside  with  the  Ursulines  of  this  city? 

Did  he  not  also  declare  that  he  would  have  her  at  all  risks, 
and  that  she  sh:)uld  not  escape  him? 

Did  he  not  persevere  in  this  course  of  action,  uniil  he  was 
positively  assured  that  she  would  not  see  him,  and  that  the 
Priest  Conroy  should  not  have  access  to  Maria  Monk? 

Was  not  the  Priest  Kelly,  from  Canada,  in  New- York  at 
that  period,  prompting  Conroy ;  and  did  not  that  same  Kelly 
come  on  here  expressly  to  obtain  possession  of  Maria  Monk, 
that  he  might  carry  her  back  to  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  there 
to  murder  her,  as  his  accomplices  have  smothered,  poisoned 
end  bled  to  death  other  victims  of  their  beastly  licentiousness? 
All  those  questions  are  impHed  in  Maria  Monk's  statement, 
and  they  involve  the  highest  degree  of  crime  against  the  liber- 
ty, rights,  and  life  of  Maria  Monk,  and  the  laws  of  New-York, 
and  the  charge  is  either  true  or  false.  Why  does  not  the  Priest 
Conroy  try  it?  Why  does  he  not  demonstrate  that  he  is  ca- 
lumniated, by  confronting  the  Authoress  and  Publishers  of  the 
book  before  an  impartial  jury.  We  are  assured  that  the  Exec- 
utive committee  of  the  New-York  Protestant  Association  will 
fiive  ten  dollars  to  any  Lawyer,  whom  Mr.  Conroy  will  authorize 
to  institute  a  civil  suit  for  a  libel,  payable  at  the  termination  of  the 
process.  Will  he  subject  the  question  to  that  scrutiny  ?  Never. 
He  would  rather  follow  the  example  of  his  fellow  priests,  and 
depart  from  New-York.  Many  of  the  Maynooth  Jesuits,  after 
having  fled  from  Ireland  for  their  crimes,  to  this  country,  to 
avoid  the  punishments  due  to  them  for  the  repetition  of  them 
in  tho  United  States,  and  to  elude  discovery,  have  assumed 
false  names  and  gone  to  France ;  or  in  disguise  have  joinvd 
Uidir  dissolute  companions  in  Canada. 


•;.', 


her  by  the  name 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT.  335 

It  is  also  a  fact,  that  the  Priest  named  Quarter,  with  one  of 
his  minions,  did  visit  the  house  where  Maria  Monk  resides,on  the 
13th  day  of  February,  1836  ;  and  did  endeavour  to  see  her  alone, 
under  the  false  pretext  of  delivering  to  her  a  packet  from  her 
brother  in  Montreal ;  and  as  an  argument  for  having  an  inter- 
view with  her  without  company,  one  of  the  two  impostors  did 
protest  that  he  had  a  parcel  from  John  Monk,  which  "  he  had 
sworn  not  to  deliver  except  into  the  hands  of  his  sister  in  per* 
son."    Now  what  object  had  Mr.  Quarter  in  view ;  and  what 
was  his  design  in  going  to  her  residence  between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  under  a  lying  pretence?    Mr.  Quarter  comes 
from  Canada.    He  knows  all  the  Priests  of  Montreal.     For 
what  purpose  did  he  assume  a  fictitious  character,  and  utter 
base  and  wilful  falsehoods,  that  he  might  have  access  to  her, 
with  another  man,  when  Maria  Monk,  as  tliey  hoped,  would 
be  without  a  protector?    For  what  ignoble  design  did  he  put 
an  old  Truth  Teller  into  a  parcel,  and  make  his  priest-ridden 
minion  declare  that  it  was  a  very  valuable  packet  of  letters 
from  John  Monk  1    That  strange  contrivance  requires  explan- 
ation. Did  Priest  Quarter  believe  that  Maria  Monk  was  in  Mon- 
treal ?  Did  he  doubt  her  personal  identity  ?    Does  not  that  fact 
alone  verify  that  all  the  Roman  Priests  are  confederated  1  Does 
it  not  prove  that  her  delineations  are  correct  1    Does  it  not 
evince  that  the  Papal  Ecclesiastics  dread  the  disclosures  1 

4.  The  great  ultimate  test  trhich  the  nature  of  the  case  rfe- 
mands.  Challenge  of  the  New  York  Protestant  Association. — 
It  is  readily  admitted,  ihat  the  heinous  charges  which  are  made 
by  Maria  Monk  against  the  Roman  Priests  cannot  ensiiyba 
rebutted  in  the  usual  form  of  disproving  criminal  allegations. 
The  denial  of  those  Priests  is  good  for  nothing,  and  ihey  can- 
not show  an  alibi.  But  there  ie  one  mode  of  destroying  Maria 
Monk's  testimony,  equally  prompt  and  decisive^  and  no  other 
way  is  either  feasible,  just,  or  can  be  efficient.  That  method  is 
the  plan  proposed  by  the  New- York  Protestant  Association. 

The  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  is  in  Montreal.  Here  is  Maria 
Monk's  description  of  its  interior  apartments  and  passages. 
She  offers  to  go  to  Montreal  under  the  protection  of  a  com- 
mittee of  four  members  of  the  New-York  Proteptant  Associa- 
tion, and  in  company  with  four  gentlemen  of  Montreal,  to  ex- 
plore the  Nunnery;  and  she  also  voluntarily  proposes  that  if 
her  descriptions  of  the  interior  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  are 
not  found  to  be  true,  she  will  surrender  herself  to  Lariigue  and 


,  i 


^ 


I 


T  * 

H 


'ti 


ii 


Vr,' 


>   - 


lU 


'  » 


>i.  . 


/:i  ii 


,  f 


f 


i'  ) 


^fi .  I 


•  I 


\i 


n 


d3S 


APPENDIX. 


his  confederates  to  torture  her  in  what  way  they  may  please,  or 
will  bear  the  punishment  of  the  civil  laws  as  a  base  and  wilful 
slanderer  of  the  Canadian  Jesuit  Ecclesiastics. 

When  Lartigue,  Bonin,  Dufresne,  Phelan,  Richards,  and  their 
fellows,  accede  to  this  proposition,  we  shall  hesitate  respecting 
Maria  Monk's  veracity;  until  then,  by  all  impartial  and  intelli- 
gent judj^es,  and  by  all  enlightened  protestants  and  Christians, 
the  "  Awful  Disclosures"  wil'  be  pronounced  undeniable  facts. 

The  scrutiny,  however,  respecting  Maria  Monk's  credibility 
comprises  two  general  questions,  to  which  we  shall  succinctly 
reply. 

I.  Was  Maria  Monk  a  Nun  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent  at 
Montreal?— In  ordinary  cases,  to  dispute  respecting  a  circum- 
stance of  that  kind  would  be  deemed  a  moaX  strange  absurdity; 
and  almost  similar  to  an  inquiry  into  a  man's  personal  identity 
when  his  living  form  is  before  your  eyes.  Maria  Monk  says  she 
was  a  Nun,  presents  you  a  book  descriptive  of  th3  Convent  in 
which  she  resided,  and  leaves  the  fact  of  her  abode  there  to  be 
verified  by  the  minute  accuracy  of  her  delineations  of  arcana, 
with  which  only  the  visiting  Roman  Priests  and  the  impris- 
oned Nuns  are  acquainted.  That  test,  neither  Lartigue  nor 
the  Priests  will  permit  to  be  applied ;  and  therefore,  so  far, 
Maria  Monk's  testimony  cannot  directly  be  corroborated.  It 
is  however  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  no  one  of  all  the 
persons  so  boldly  impeached  by  her  of  the  most  atrocious 
crimes,  has  even  whispered  a  hint  that  she  was  not  a  iVun; 
while  the  Priest  Conroy  has  confirmed  that  fact  far  more  cer- 
tainly than  if  he  had  openly  asserted  its  truth. 

5.  The  testimony  of  Mrs.  Monk  considered.— The  only  evi 
dence  against  that  fact  is  her  mother.  Now  it  is  undeniable, 
that  her  mother  \%  a  totally  incompetent  witness.  She  is  known 
m  Montreal  to  be  a  woman  of  hut  Httle  principle ;  and  her  oath 
in  her  daughter's  favour  would  have  been  injurious  to  her ;  for 
she  is  so  habitually  intemperate,  that  it  is  questionable  whether 
she  is  ever  truly  competent  to  explain  any  matters  which  come 
under  her  notice.  Truth  requires  this  declaration,  althou;;h  Ma- 
ria, with  commendable  filial  feelings,  di3  not  hint  at  the  fact. 
Besides,  during  a  number  of  years  past,  she  has  exhibited  a  most 
unnatural  aversion,  or  rather  animosity,  to  her  daughter;  so 
that  to  her  barbarous  usage  of  Maria  when  a  child,  may  be  im- 
puted the  subsequent  scenes  through  which  she  has  passed. 
When  appealed  to  respecting  her  daughter,  her  uniform  Ian- 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT.  837 


'     V 


pnago  was  such  as  this— "I  do  not  care  what  becomes  of  her,  or 
who  takes  her,  or  where  she  goes,  or  what  is  done  to  her,  pro- 
vided she  keeps  away  from  me." 

It  is  also  testified  by  the  most  unexceptionable  witnesses  in 
Montreal,  that  when  Maria  Monk  went  to  that  city  in  August, 
1835,  and  first  made  known  her  case,  that  Mrs.  Monk  repeatedly 
declared,  that  her  daughter  had  been  a  Nun;  and  that  she 
had  been  in  the  nunneries  at  Montreal  a  large  portion  of  her  life. 
She  also  avowed,  ihat  the  offer  of  bribery  that  had  been  made 
unto  her,  had1)een  made,  not  by  Protestants,  to  testify  that  her 
daughter  Maria  had  been  an  inmate  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  i 
but  by  the  Roman  Priests,  who  had  promised  her  one  hundred 
dollars,  if  ^e  would  make  an  affidavit  that  Maria  had  not  been 
in  that  nunnery  at  all ;  and  would  also  swear  to  any  other 
matters  which  they  dictated.  Now  there  is  little  room  for 
doubt,  that  the  affidavit  to  the  truth  of  which  she  finally  swore 
was  thus  obtained ;  for  she  has  not  capacity  to  compose  such  a 
narrative,  nor  has  she  been  in  a  state  of  mind,  for  a  number 
of  years  past,  to  understand  the  details  which  have  thus  craft- 
ily been  imposed  upon  the  public  in  her  name.  When  she  had 
no  known  inducement  to  falsify  the  fact  in  August,  1835,  before 
the  Priests  became  alarmed,  then  she  constantly  affirmed  that 
her  daughter  had  been  a  Nun ;  but  after  Lartigue  and  his  com- 
panions were  assured  that  her  daughter's  narrative  would  ap- 
pear, then  the  mother  was  probably  bribed,  formally  to  swear 
to  a  wilful  falsehood ;  for  it  is  most  probable,  that  she  either 
did  not  see,  or  from  intoxication  could  not  comprehend,  the 
contents  of  the  paper  to  which  her  signature  is  affixed.  Her 
habitual  intemperance,  her  coarse  impiety,  her  long-indulged 
hatred  and  cruelty  towards  her  daughter,  and  her  flat  Self-con- 
tradiciions,  with  her  repealed  and  public  declarations,  that  she 
had  been  offered  a  large  sum  of  money  by  the  Montreal  Priests, 
thus  to  depreciate  her  daugl iter's  allegations,  and  to  attest  upon 
oath  precisely  the  contrary  to  that  which  she  had  previously 
declared,  to  persons  whose  sole  object  was  to  ascertain  the 
truth— ail  those  things  demonstrate  that  Mrs.  Monk's  evidence 
is  of  no  worth ;  and  yet  that  is  all  the  opposite  evidence  which 
can  be  adduced. 

6.  Testimony  in  favour  of  the  600A:.— Mr.  Miller,  the  son  of 
Adam  Miller,  a  well  known  teacher  at  St.  John's,  who  has 
known  Maiia  Monk  from  her  childhood,  and  who  is  now  a  res- 
ident of  New  York,  solemnly  attests,  that  in  the  month  of 

29 


^1 


1! 


if 


; « 


■l    I 


338 


APPENDIX. 


i 


IE' 


if 


\     i 


l>liill 


..il 


!i 


( 


ii.i 


ir 


5»   '    , 


i  s 


AufTut,  1333,  he  made  inquiries  of  Mrs.  Monk  respecting  her 
daughter  Maria,  end  that  Mrs.  Monk  informed  him  that  Maria 
was  then  a  Nun!  that  she  had  taken  the  veil  previous  to  that 
conversation,  and  that  she  had  been  in  the  nunnery  for  a 
number  of  years.  Mr.  Miller  voluntarily  attested  to  that  fact. 
He  was  totally  ignorant  of  Maria  Monk's  being  out  of  the 
Nunnery  at  Montreal,  until  he  saw  her  book,  and  finally  by 
searching  out  her  place  of  abode,  renewed  the  acquaintance 
with  her  which  had  existed  between  them  from  the  period  when 
she  attended  his  father's  school  in  her  childhood.  See  the  af- 
fidavit of  William  Miller,  page  237. 

When  Maria  Monk  made  her  escope,  os  she  states,  from  the 
Hotel  Dicu  Nunnery,  she  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  a  woman 
named  Lavalliere,  in  Elizabeth  street,  Montreal,  the  second 
or  third  door  from  the  corner  of  what  is  commonly  called  "  the 
Bishop's  Church."  Madame  Lavalliere  afterward  admitted, 
that  Maria  Monk  did  arrive  at  her  house  at  the  time  speci- 
fied, in  the  usual  habiliments  of  a  Nun,  and  made  herself 
known  as  an  eloped  Nun ;  that  she  provided  her  with  other 
clothing;  and  that  she  afterward  carried  the  Nun's  garments 
to  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery. 

After  her  escape,  Maria  Monk  narrates  that  she  went  on 
board  a  steamboat  for  Quebec,  intending  thereby  to  avoid  being 
seized  and  again  transferred  to  the  Nunnery,  that  she  was  recog- 
nised by  the  Captain,  was  kept  under  close  watch  during  the 
whole  period  of  the  stay  of  that  boat  at  Quebec,  and  merely  by 
accident  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  Priests,  by  watching  for 
an  unexpected  opportunity  to  attain  the  shore  during  the  absence 
of  the  Captain,  and  the  momentary  negligence  of  the  female  at- 
tendant in  the  cabin.  The  woman  was  called  Margaret ,  the 

other  name  is  forgotten.  The  name  of  the  Master  of  the  steam- 
boat is  probably  known  and  he  has  never  pretended  to  deny 
that  statement,  that  he  did  thus  detain  Maria  Monk,  would  not 
permit  her  to  go  on  shore  at  Quebec,  and  that  he  also  conducted 
her  back  to  Montreal ;  having  suspected  or  ascertained  that 
she  was  a  Nun  who  had  clandestinely  escaped  from  a  Convent. 

7.  Corroborative  evidence  unintentionally  furnished  by  the 
opponents  of  the  book.— After  her  flight  from  the  steamboat,  she 
was  found,  early  in  the  morning,  in  a  very  perilous  situation, 
either  on  the  banks,  or  partly  in  the  Lachine  Canal,  and  was 
committed  to  the  public  prison  by  Dr.  Robertson,  whence  she 
was  speedily  released  through  the  intervention  of  Mr.  Essofli 


n 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  BUBJECT.  339 


one  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Montreal.  Upon  this  topic, 
her  statement  coincides  exactly  with  that  of  Dr.  Robertson. 

But  he  also  states— "Although  incredulous  as  to  the  truth 
of  Maria  Monk's  story,  I  thought  it  incumbent  upon  me  to 
make  some  inquiry  concerning  it,  and  have  ascertained 
where  she  has  been  residing  a  great  part  of  the  time  ahe  states 
having  been  an  inmate  of  the  Nunnery.  During  the  summer 
of  1832,  she  was  at  service  at  William  Henry;  the  winters  of 
1332-3,  she  passed  in  this  neighbourhood  at  St.  Ours  and  St. 
Denis." 

That  is  most  remarkable  testimony,  because^  although  Pa- 
pists may  justly  be  admitted  to  knoAr  nothing  of  times  and 
dates,  unless  by  their  Carniyals,  iheir  Festivals,  their  Lent,  or 
their  Penance— yet  Protestant  Magistrates  might  be  more  pre- 
cise. Especially,  as  it  is.  a  certam  fact,  that  no  person  at  Sore! 
can  be  discovered,  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  such  a  young 
woman  at  service  in  the  summer  of  1832.  It  is  true,  she  did  re- 
side at  St.  Deiiis  or  St.  Ours,  as  the  Roman  Priests  can  tes- 
tify ;  but  not  at  the  period  specified  by  Dr.  Robertson. 

For  the  testimony  of  a  decisive  witness  in  favour  of  Maria 
Monk,  see  page  238. 

8.  Summary  vieto  of  the  evidence—Let  us  sum  up  this  con- 
tradictory evidence  respecting  the  simple  fact,  whether  Maria 
Monk  was  a  resident  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  or  not  1 

Her  mother  says— "  I  denied  that  my  daughter  had  ever  been 
in  a  Nunnery."  Dr.  Robertson  informs  us—**  I  have  ascertain- 
•d  where  she  has  been  residing  a  great  part  of  the  time  she 
states  having  been  an  inmate  of  the  Nunnery."  That  is  all 
which  can  be  adduced  to  contradict  Maria  Monk's  statement. 

This  is  a  most  extraordinary  affair,  that  a  young  woman's 
place  of  abode  cannot  be  accurately  discovered  during  several 
3'ears,  when  all  the  controversy  depends  upon  the  fact  of  that 
residence.  Why  did  not  Dr.  Robertson  specify  minutely  with 
whom  Maria  Monk  lived  at  service  at  William  Henry,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1832  ?— Why  did  not  Dr.  Robertson  exactly  designate 
where,  and  with  whom,  she  resided  at  St.  Denis  and  St.  Ours, 
in  the  winters  of  1832  and  1833  7  The  only  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions ia  this — Dr.  Robertson  cannot.  He  obtained  his  contradic- 
tory information  most  probably  from  her  mother,  or  from  the 
Priest  Kelly,  and  then  imbodied  it  in  his  affidavit  to  regain  that 
favour  and  popularity  with  the  Montreal  Papists  which  ha  haa> 
80  long  lost.    We  arc  convinced  that  neither  the  evidence  of 


I 


«■  I 


l''f 


Ml  ■ 


;l"t 


ill' 


ii:  I 


' '  '• 


'*;l   I 


■?  t 


hi 


ill*  * 


'I? 


■I    i,.:. 


<tl 


f     •■' 


f 


340 


APPENDIX. 


Mrs.  Monk,  nor  of  Dr.  Robertson,  would  be  of  a  feather's 
weight  in  a  court  of  justice  against  the  other  witnesses,  Mrs. 
y  and  Mr.  William  Miller. 

Maria  Monk  asserts,  that  she  was  a  resident  in  the  Hotel 
Dicu  Nunnery  during  the  period  designated  by  Dr.  Robertson, 
which  is  familiarly  denominated  the  Cholera  summer.  In  her 
narrative,  she  develops  a  variety  of  minute  and  characteristic  de* 
tails  of  proceedings  in  that  Institution,  connected  with  things 
which  all  persons  in  Montreal  know  to  have  actually  occurred, 
and  of  events  which  it  is  equally  certain  did  happen,  and  which 
did  not  transpire  anywhere  else ;  and  which  it  is  impossible 
could  have  taken  place  nt  Sorel  or  William  Henry ;  because 
there  is  no  Nunnery  there ;  and  consequently  her  descriptions 
would  bo  purely  fabricated  and  fictitious. 

But  the  things  a.sserted  are  not  inventions  of  imagination. 
No  person  could  thus  delineate  scenes  which  he  had  not  be- 
held ;  and  therefore  Maria  Monk  witnessed  them ;  consequent- 
ly, A\c  was  a  member  of  that  female  community;  for  the  cir- 
cumstances which  she  narrates  nowhere  else  occurred.  At  all 
events,  it  seems  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  individual 
can  more  certainly  tell  what  has  been  his  own  course  of  life, 
than  persons  who,  by  their  own  admission,  know  nothing  of 
the  subject;  and  especially  when  her  statements  are  confirmed 
by  such  unexceptionable  witnesses. 

There  are,  however,  two  collateral  points  of  evidence  which 
strongly  confirm  Maria  Monk's  direct  statements.  One  is  de- 
rived from  tha  very  character  of  the  acknowledgments  which 
fhe  made,  and  the  period  when  they  were  first  disclosed.  "A 
death-bed,"  says  the  Poet,  "is  a  detecter  of  the  heart."  Now 
it  is  certain,  that  the  appalling  facts  which  she  states,  were  not 
primarily  made  in  a  season  of  hilarity,  or  with  any  design  tc 
"  make  money"  by  them,  or  with  any  expectation  that  they 
would  be  known  to  any  other  person  than  Mr.  Hilliker,  Mr. 
Tappan,  and  a  few  others  at  Bcllevue ;  but  when  there  was  no 
anticipation  that  her  life  would  be  prolonged,  and  when  ago- 
nized with  the  most  direful  retrospection  and  prospects. 

It  is  not  possible  to  believe,  that  any  woman  would  confess 
those  facts  which  are  divulged  by  Maria  Monk,  unless  from 
dread  of  death  and  the  judgment  to  come,  or  from  the  effect  of 
profound  Christian  penitence.  Feminine  repugnance  would  be 
invincible.  Thus,  the  alarm  of  ctimity,  her  entrance  upon 
which  appeared  to  be  so  immediate,  was  the  only  cause  of  those 


Review  of  the  whole  subject.       841 


eomnianications ;  whicli  inconteslably  prove,  that  Nunneries 
are  the  very  nurseries  of  the  most  nefarious  crimes,  and  the 
moat  abandoned  transgressor?. 

The  other  consideration  is  this— that  admitting  the  state- 
ments to  be  true,  Maria  Monk  could  not  be  unconscious  of  the 
malignity  of  Roman  Priests,  and  of  her  own  danger;  and  if  her 
litalcments  were  fictitious,  she  was  doubly  involving  herself  in 
u reparable  disgrace  and  ruin.  In  either  case,  as  long  as  she 
was  in  New  York  she  was  personally  safe ;  and  as  her  disclo- 
sures had  been  restricted  to  very  few  persons,  she  might  havt 
withdrawn  from  the  public  institution,  and  in  privacy  have 
passed  away  her  life,  "alike  unknowing  and  unknown."  Lu- 
nacy itself  could  only  have  instigated  a  woninn  situated  as  she 
was,  to  visit  Montreal,  and  there  defy  the  power,  and  malice, 
and  fury  of  the  Roman  Priests,  and  their  myrmidons ;  by  accu- 
mulating upon  them  charges  of  rape,  infanticide,  the  infliction 
of  the  tortures  of  the  Inquisition,  and  murders  of  cold-blooded 
ferocity  in  the  highest  degree,  with  all  the  atrocious  concomi 
lant  iniquities  which  those  prime  prohfic  sins  include. 

Now  it  is  certain,  that  she  was  not  deranged ;  and  she  was 
not  forced.  She  went  deliberately,  and  of  her  own  accord,  to 
meet  the  Popish  Prie -ts  upon  the  spot  where  their  crimes  are 
perpetrated,  and  in  the  stronghold  of  their  power.  Whether 
that  measure  was  the  most  prudent  and  pohtic  for  herself,  and 
the  most  wise  and  efficient  for  the  acquisition  of  the  avowed  ob- 
ject, may  be  disputed;  but  the  exemplary  openness  and  the 
magnanimous  daring  of  that  act  cannot  be  controverted. 

The  narrative,  pages  172  to  176,  respecting  the  cholera  and 
(he  election  riots  at  Montreal,  both  which  scenes  happened  at 
the  period  when  Dr.  Robertson  says  Maria  Monk  was  at  Wil- 
liam Henry,  or  St.  Denis,  or  St.  Ours;  could  not  have  been 
described,  at  least  that  part  of  it  resj^ecting  the  wax  candles, 
and  the  preparations  for  defence,  except  by  a  resident  in  the 
Nunnery. 

It  is  a  public,  notorious  fact,  that  "blessed  candles"  were 
made,  and  sold  by  the  Nuns,  and  used  at  Montreal  under  the 
pretext  to  preserve  houses  from  the  Cholera,  and  to  drive 
it  away ;  that  those  candles  were  directed  so  to  be  kept  burning 
by  the  pretended  injunction  of  the  Pope ;  and  that  large  quan- 
tities of  the  Nunnery  candles  were  dispersed  about  Montreal 
and  its  vicinity,  which  were  fixed  at  a  high  price ;  and  whoever 
cufifercd  by  the  Cholera,  the  Nuns  and  their  Masters,  the 
20^ 


iV 


i 


% 

I 


342 


APFEXOIZ. 


r\'  ■ 


'  i 


i(    t 


ii 


'u     I 


if' 


Priefltt,  could  truly  Bay—"  By  this  craft  wo  have  our  wealth." 
Acts  19 :  26.  It  is  obvious,  that  a  young  Papist  woman  at  scr* 
vice  at  William  Henry,  could  know  no  more  of  those  matters, 
than  if  she  had  been  at  Labrador ;  for  the  incidental  remark 
with  which  that  part  of  the  narrative  commences,  is  one  o) 
those  apparently  superfluous  intimations,  which  it  is  evident  a 
person  who  was  writing  a  fiction  would  not  introduce ;  and  yot 
It  is  so  profoundly  characteristic  of  a  Canadian  Convent,  that 
Its  very  simple  artlessness  at  once  obliterates  Dr.  Robertson's 
afndavit.  '*  There  were  a  few  instances,  and  only  a  few,  in 
which  we  knew  any  thing  that  was  happening  in  the  world ; 
and  even  then  our  knowledge  did  not  extend  out  of  the  city." 
Wc  cannot  bo  infallibly  certain  of  Maria  Blonk's  description  ot 
the  interior  of  the  Nunnery ;  but  that  unpremeditated  remark, 
so  minutely  descriptive  of  the  predominating  ignorance  among 
the  Nuns  of  all  terrestrial  concerns  exterior  to  the  Coavent,  is 
Batisfactory  proof  that  the  narrator  was  not  sketching  from 
fancy,  but  depicting  from  actual  life. 

From  those  testimonies,  direct  and  unintentional,  it  is  fully 
evident,  that  Maria  Monk  was  long  a  resident,  and  is  profound- 
ly acquainted  with  the  doings  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent  at 
Blontreal. 

H.  What  collateral  evidence  can  be  adduced  of  the  truth  ot 
the  "  Awful  Disclosures"  by  Maria  Monk  1 

I.  One  corroborative  testimony  is  derived  from  Ihe  silence  oj 
the  Roman  Priests  and  their  avowed  partisans.  Months  have 
passed  away  since  the  first  statements  of  those  matters  were 
made,  and  also  the  defence  of  the  Priests,  with  the  affidavits 
and  other  connected  circumstances,  were  presented  to  the  pub* 
lie  in  the  Protestant  Vindicator.  One  of  the  persons  in  Mon* 
treal,  who  was  in  favour  of  the  Jesuits,  Mr.  Doucet,  stated  that 
'*  the  Priests  never  take  up  such  things ;  they  allow  their  char- 
acter to  defend  itself."  There  was  a  time  when  that  contempt* 
uous  course  would  have  sufficed,  or  rather,  when  to  have  spo* 
ken  the  truth  of  Roman  Priests  would  have  cost  a  man  his 
life,  and  overwhelmed  his  family  in  penury,  disgrace,  and  an- 
guish. The  Canadian  Jesuits  may  be  assured  that  time  hti 
passed  away,  never  more  to  return.  They  must  take  up  this 
thing;  for  their  characters  cannot  defend  themselves;  and 
every  enlightened  man  in  Canada  knows,  that  in  a  moral  as- 
pect, they  cannot  be  defended. 

Argument,  denial,  affidavits,  if  they  could  reach  from  Mob* 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


343 


of  the  truth  ot 


tch  from  MoB- 


tronl  to  New  York,  and  tho  oaths  of  erery  Papist  and  Infidel 
in  Canado,  from  Joseph  Signay,  the  Popish  Prelate  of  Quebec, 
Atid  Juan  Jacques  Lartigue,  the  Suflragan  of  Montreal,  down  to 
the  most  profligate  of  the  half-pny  military  officers,  among 
whom  are  to  be  found  some  of  tho  dregs  of  the  British  army, 
all  of  them  will  avail  nothing.  They  are  not  worth  a  puff  of 
wind  against  tho  internal  evidence  of  Maria  Monk's  book,  in 
connexion  with  the  rejection  of  the  proposal  of  the  New  York 
Protestant  Association,  that  the  Nunnery  shall  undergo  a  strict 
and  impartial  examination. 

It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  evidences  of  the  extraordinary  de* 
lusion  which  blinds,  or  the  infatuation  which  enchains  tho  pub« 
lie  mind,  that  men  will  not  credit  tho  corruptions  and  barbari- 
ties of  Romanism.  To  account  for  this  stupefaction  among 
persons  who  are  wide  awake  to  c-'cry  other  system  of  deadly 
evil,  is  olmost  impossible.  Poper,  necessarily  CAiirpates  tho 
rights  of  man.  It  ever  has  destroyed  tliu  well  being  of  society. 
l]y  it,  all  municipal  law  and  domestic  obllja.io  .3  are  abrogated. 
It  always  subverts  national  prosperity  and  i+abiUty:  and  ?  if 
the  invincible  extinguisher  of  all  true  mornlity  and  ^,  "luine  re- 
ligion. Notwithstanding,  men  will  give  creden>  >  neither  to 
its  own  avowed  principles,  character,  and  rpiri: ;  nor  to  the  ;;  i- 
avoidablo  effects  which  constantly  have  fi  jwe  i  from  its  optia- 
tions  nnd  predominance. 

In  any  other  case  but  one  exposing  the  abominations  of  Po- 
pery, such  a  volume  as  Maria  Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures^* 
would  have  been  received  without  cavil ;  and  immediate  judi- 
cial measures  would  have  been  adopted,  to  ascertain  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  alleged  facts,  and  the  extent  and  aggravation  of 
their  criminality.  But  now  persons  are  calling  for  more  evi- 
dence, when,  if  they  reflected  but  for  a  moment,  they  would  per- 
ceive, that  the  only  additional  evidence  possible,  is  under  tho 
entire  control  of  the  very  pcre'-na  who  are  criminated ;  and  to 
whcm  the  admission  of  furthv«  '  atimony  would  be  the  accu- 
mulation of  indelible  ignominy. 

The  pretence,  that  it  is  contrary  to  their  rules  to  allow  stran- 
gers to  explore  the  intenor  of  a  nunnery,  only  adds  insult  to 
crime.  Why  should  a  Convent  be  exempt  from  search,  more 
than  any  other  edifice  1  Why  should  Roman  Priests  be  at  lib- 
erty to  perpetrate  every  deed  of  darkness  in  impenetrable  re- 
oesses  called  nunneries  7  Why  should  one  body  of  female^ 
ahux  up  in  a  certain  species  of  mansion,  to  whom  only  one  clasa 


If 


w 


1^ 


: 


H!i 


:i  '. 


I!      i 


f   ! 


344 


APPE!^DIX. 


of  men  have  unrestricted  accees,  be  excluded  from  all  public 
and  legal  supervision,  more  than  any  other  habitation  of  lewd 
women,  into  which  all  men  may  enter  1  As  citizens  of  thcUni> 
ted  States,  we  do  not  pretend  to  have  any  authoritative  claim 
to  explore  a  convent  within  the  dominion  of  a  foreign  potentate. 
The  Roman  Priests  of  Canada  exercise  a  vast  influence,  aud 
are  completely  intertwined  with  the  Jesuits  in  this  republic. 
Therefore,  when  they  remember  the  extinction  of  the  nunnehevi 
at  Monroe,  Michigan,  Charlestown,  and  Pittsburg ;  and  when 
they  recollect,  that  the  delineations  of  Maria  Monk,  if  they  pro- 
duce no  effect  in  Canada,  will  assuredly  render  female  convents 
in  the  United  States  very  suspicious  and  insecure ;  if  they  have 
any  solicitude  for  their  confederates,  they  will  intrepidly  defy 
research,  and  dauntlessly  accept  the  ofTer  of  the  New- York 
Protestant  Association  :  that  a  joint  committee,  of  disinterested, 
enlightened  and  honorable  judges,  should  fully  investigate,  and 
equitably  decide  upon  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Maria  Monk's 
averments.  Their  ominous  silenc  "heir  affected  contempt, 
and  their  audacious  refusal,  arc  calculated  only  to  convinca 
every  impartial  person,  of  even  the  smallest  discernment,  of 
the  real  state  of  things  in  that  edifice ;  that  the  chambers  of  pol- 
lution are  above,  and  that  the  dungeons  of  torture  and  dr a.th  iia 
below ;  and  that  they  dread  the  exposure  of  the  theatre  on 
which  their  horrific  tragedies  are  performed. 

It  is  also  a  fact  publicly  avowed  by  certain  Montreal  Papists 
themselves,  and  extensively  told  in  taunt  and  triumph,  tha: 
they  have  been  employed  as  masons  and  carpenters  by  the  Ro« 
man  Priests,  since  Maria  Monk's  visit  to  Montreal  in  August, 
1835,  expressly  to  niter  various  parts  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent, 
and  to  close  up  some  of  the  subterraneous  passages  and  cells 
in  that  nunnery.  This  circumstance  is  not  pretended  even  to 
be  disputed  or  doubted ;  for  when  the  dungeons  under  ground 
are  spoken  of  before  the  Papists,  their  remark  is  this :  "  Eh 
bein !  mais  vous  nc  les  trouverez  pas,  d  present ;  on  les  acach$ 
hors  de  vue.  Very  well,  you  will  not  find  them  there  now; 
they  are  closed  up,  and  out  of  sight."  Why  was  this  mancsa* 
vre  completed  1  Manifestly,  that  in  urgent  extremity,  a  casoBl 
explorer  might  be  deceived,  by  the  apparent  proof  that  the  ave- 
nues, and  places  of  imprisonment  and  torture  which  Maria  Monk 
describes  are  not  discoverable.  Now  that  circumstance  might 
not  even  have  been  suspected,  it  the  Papist  workmen  them- 
•elves  bad  not  openly  boasted  of  the  chicanery  by  which  lb* 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT.  315 


It :  on  les  a  cach$ 


Priests,  who  employed  them,  expected  to  blind  and  deceive  the 
Protestants.  For  in  reference  to  the  Romanists,  a  Popish 
Priest  well  knows  that  nothing  more  ia  necessary  than  for  him 
to  assert  any  absurdity,  however  gross  or  impossible,  and  attest 
it  by  the  five  crosses  on  his  vestments,  and  his  superstitions 
vassal  believes  it  with  more  assurance  than  his  own  personal 
identity.  But  the  fillinp;  up  and  the  concealment  of  the  old 
apertures  in  the  nunnery,  by  the  order  of  the  Roman  Priests,  are 
scarcely  less  powerful  corroborativcproof  of  Maria  Monk's  de- 
lineations, than  ocular  and  palpable  demonstration. 

2.  Some  of  the  circumstances  attending  Maria  Monk's  visit 
to  Montreal,  in  August,  1835,  add  great  weight  in  favour 
of  the  truth,  which  no  cavils,  skepticism,  scorn,  nor  menaces, 
can  counterbalance. 

We  will  however  state  one  very  recent  occurrence,  because  it 
seems  to  us,  that  it  alone  is  almost  decisive  of  the  controversy. 
A  counsellor  of  Quebec— his  name  is  omitted  merely  from  deli- 
cacy and  prudential  considerations— has  been  in  New- York 
since  the  publication  of  the  "  Awful  Disclosures."  His  mind 
was  so  much  influenced  by  the  perusal  of  that  volume,  that  ho 
sought  out  the  Authoress,  and  most  closely  searched  into  tlio 
credibility  of  her  statements.  Before  the  termination  of  the  in- 
terview, that  gentleman  became  so  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  picture  which  Maria  Monk  drew  of  the  interior  of  the  Ca- 
nadian Nunneries,  that  he  expressed  himself  to  the  following 
effect :— "My  daughter,  about  15  years  ef  age,  is  in  the  Ursulinc 
Convent  at  Quebec.  I  will  return  home  immediately;  and  if  1 
cannot  remove  her  any  other  way,  I  will  drag  her  out  by  the 
hair  of  her  head,  and  raise  a  noise  about  their  ears  that  shall 
tiot  soon  be  quieted." 

That  gentleman  did  so  return  to  Quebec,  since  which  he  has 
again  visited  New- York ;  and  he  stated,  that  upon  bis  arrival 
in  Quebec,  he  went  to  the  Convent,  and  instantly  removed  his 
daughter  from  the  Ursuline  Nunnery ;  from  whom  he  ascer- 
tained, as  far  as  she  had  been  initiated  into  the  mysteries,  that 
Maria  Monk's  descriptions  of  Canadian  Nunneries,  are  most 
minutely  and  undeniably  accurate. 

We  have  already  remarked,  that  Mrs.  ♦*♦♦,  Mr.  Lloyd,  Mr. 
Hogan,  and  Mr.  Smith,  who  was  a  Papist  Priest,  with  scores 
of  other  persons  who  formerly  resided  in  Montreal,  all  express 
their  unqualified  belief  of  the  statements  made  by  Maria  Monk. 
Mr.  Ogden's  acquaintance  with  the  facts,  as  Attorney  General, 


i 


t 


li 


•' .  : 


iSi 


■    li 


!i'i 


1 

I'l 

\  i 

ri 

'  ,  ; 

{ 

1 

1  i 

r. 

ii  . 

'!  1 

! 

1 

(I, .  ';■ 


346 


APPENDIX. 


nnd  that  of  other  ofRcers  of  the  Provincial  Government,  have 
also  been  noticed.  The  ensuing  additional  circumstances  aro 
of  primary  importance  to  a  correct  estimate  of  the  value  which 
should  be  atlaclied  to  the  crafty  silence  of  the  Roman  Priests 
and  the  impudent  denials  of  infidel  profligates. 

Mr.  Bouthillier,  one  of  the  Montreal  magistrates,  called  at 
Mr.  Johnson's  house  where  Maria  Monk  stayed,  in  the  month 
of  August,  1S35,  when  visitin;;  Montreal. 

He  addressed  her  and  said  :  "There  is  some  mystery  about 
Novices— What  is  it  7  and  asked  how  long  a  woman  must  be 
B  novice  before  she  can  take  the  veil?"  Having  been  answered, 
Mr.  Eouthillier  then  desired  Maria  Monk  to  describe  the  Su- 
perior of  the  Hotel  Dicu  Nunnery.  As  soon  as  it  was  done,  ho 
became  enraged,  a:id  said — "  Vous  dites  un  mensonge,  vou3 
en  savez.  You  lie,  you  know  you  do !"— Mr.  Bouthllicr  Udxt 
inquired— "Was  Mr.  Tabeau  in  the  Holy  Retreat  when  you 
I'ft  the  Convent?"  She  answered  "Yes."  To  which  he  re 
plied  ill. French— "Anybody  might  have  answered  that  ques- 
tion." Something  having  been  said  about  the  Hotel  Dieu 
Nuns  being  c<mfincd  to  their  convent,  Mr.  Bouthillier  declared, 
liial  thoy  were  allowed  to  go  about  the  street?,  for  his  wife  had 
Keen  them  in  the  streets.  He  was  told  that  could  not  be  the 
case,  for  it  was  a  direct  violation  of  the  rules  for  Nuns  to  de- 
part from  the  Hotel  Dial  Nunnery.  He  replied — "Go  n'est 
pas  vrai.  That  is  not  true."  Mr.  Bouthillier  then  became 
vt?ry  angry,  and  applied  to  Maria  Monk  some  very  abusive 
epithets,  for  which  a  gentleman  in  the  room  reproved  him.  It 
v.as  evident,  that  he  lost  his  temper  because  he  had  lost  his 
argument,  and  his  hopes  of  controverting  her  statements. 

On  the  Lord's  day  after  Maria  Monk's  arrival  in  Montreal, 
nnd  when  the  matter  had  become  well  known  and  much  talked 
about,  Phclan,  the  Priest,  at  the  end  of  mass,  addressed  the  Pa- 
pists, who  wero  assembled  to  hear  mass,  to  this  effect:  "  There 
16  a  certain  nun  in  this  city  who  has  left  our  faith,  and  joined  the 
Protestants.  She  has  a  child  of  which  she  is  ready  to  swear  I 
am  the  father.  Sho  wishes  in  ihis  way  to  take  my  gown  from 
me.  li  I  knew  where  to  find  her,  1  would  put  her  in  prison.  I 
mention  this  to  guard  you  against  being  deceived  by  what  sho 
may  nay.  The  Devil  now  has  such  hold  upon  people  that  thcio 
is  danger  h  st  some  might  believe  her  story."  He  then  pretended 
to  weep,  and  appeared  to  bo  overcome  with  feeling.  A  number 
of  the  people  gathered  around  him,  and  he  said :   "  That  nun  ii 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


347 


Antichrist.  She  is  not  a  human  being,  but  an  evil  spirit,  who 
got  among  the  Catholics,  and  was  admitted  into  the  nunnery^ 
where  she  learned  the  rules."  He  also  stated,  that  "  in  that  nun. 
the  prophecy  respecting  the  coming  of  Antichrist  is  fulfilled,  to 
break  down  the  Catholic  religion."  Such  was  Pheian's  address 
to  the  people.  He  declared  that  Maria  Monk  had  been  a  nun. 
Now  he  knew  her,  loi  he  saw  her  in  Montreal,  where  she  could 
not  know  him.  It  would  have  saved  all  further  inquiry  and 
research,  if,  instead  of  denouncing  her  after  mas?,  he  had  mere- 
ly assented  to  Maria  Monk's  proposition,  to  be  confronted  with 
those  Roman  Priests  and  nuns  before  impartial  witnesses  in 
the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent. 

One  of  the  most  impressively  characteristic  circumstances 
which  occurred  during  Maria  Monk's  visit  to  Montreal  in  Aug. 
1835,  was  an  interview  at  Mr.  Johnson's  house  with  a  Carpen- 
ter who  had  heard  Pheian's  denunciation  of  Maria  Monk  after 
mass.    Refer  to  page  307. 

Thff'  heinous  destruction  of  all  domestic  confidence  and  of 
all  feri.die  purity,  is  known  to  be  the  constant  and  general 
practice,  not  only  in  Canada,  but  in  all  other  Popish  countries, 
and  among  Papists  in  every  part  of  the  world.  For  in  truth  it 
is  only  fitlfilling  the  authentic  dogmas  of  their  ow-n  system. 
The  following  authoritative  principles  are  divulged  in  the  Cor- 
pus Juris  Canonici,  which  contains  the  Decretals,  Canons,  (Stc. 
of  the  Popes  and  Councils ;  and  other  participants  of  the  pre- 
tended Papal  infallihility.  "If  the  Pope  fall  into  homicide  or 
adultery,  he  cannot  be  accused,  but  is  e.vcused  by  the  murders 
of  Samson,  and  the  adultery  of  David,"  Hugo,  Glossa,  Dis- 
tinc.  40.  Chapter,  Non  vos.—"  Likewise  if  any  Priest  is  foimd 
embracing  a  woman,  it  must  be  presupposed  and  expounded 
that  he  doth  it  to  bless  her !"— Glossa,  Cans.  12.  Quest.  3. 
Chapter  Absis.  -  According  to  the  Pope's  bull,  he  who  docs  not 
believe  those  doctrines  is  ac:;ursed. 

As  that  Carpenter  was  completely  overcome  by  the  recol- 
lection of  the  Priest's  information  and  caution  about  his  mar- 
riage, he  desisted  from  any  further  questions ;  but  upon  Maria 
Monk's  declaration,  that  she  was  desirous  to  go  info  the  con- 
vent, and  prove  all  her  accusations  against  the  Priests  and 
Nuns,  he  withdrew.  Soon  after  he  returned,  and  stated,  that 
he  had  been  to  the  Convent,  to  inquire  respecting  her;  and 
that  he  had  been  informed,  that  she  had  once  belonged  to 
the  Nunnery;  but  that  they  would  not  any  longer  own  or 


11 


|i^ 


348 


APPENDIX. 


' 


H 


i' 


!l  I  ' 


!. 


.1    ?      S 


'  i, 


I  ' 


mi.i^, 


r- 


recognise  her.  Afterwards  he  exhibited  the  most  contra- 
dictory emotions,  and  first  cursed  Maria  Monk ;  then  reviled 
the  Priests,  applying  to  them  all  the  loathsome  epithets  in 
the  Canadian  vocabulary.  Subsequently,  he  went  to  make  in- 
quiries at  the  Seminary  ;  and  after  his  return  to  Mr.  Johnson's 
house  he  declared,  that  the  persons  there  had  informed  him, 
that  Maria  Monk  had  lived  in  the  Nunnery,  but  not  as  a  Nun ; 
then  he  offered  to  assist  her  in  her  endeavours  to  expose  the 
Priests ;  and  finally  disappeared,  swearing  aloud  as  he  was  re- 
tiring from  the  house ;  and  apparently  thinking  over  the  con- 
duct of  the  Priest  to  his  wife  before  their  marriage.—"  Oh,  sa- 
ere !"— he  repeated  to  himself—"  c'est  trop  mechant !" 

Similar  facts  to  the  above  occurred  frequently  during  the 
time  of  Maria  Monk's  visit  to  Montreal— in  which  strangers 
who  called  upon  her,  cursed  and  reviled  her;  then  believed  her 
statements  and  assented  to  them— and  displayed  all  the  natu- 
ral excitement  which  was  necessarily  comprised  in  the  work- 
ing of  their  own  belief  and  convictions  of  the  iniquity  of  the 
Priests,  and  the  dread  resulting  from  their  own  superstitious 
vassalage,  and  ♦he  certainty  of  a  lieavy  penance. 

But  in  connexion  with  the  preceding 'collateral  evidence 
is  another  remarkable  circumstance,  which  is  this :  the  exten- 
sive knowledge  which  Mana  Monk  has  obtained  of  the  Cana- 
dian Jesuits.  Those  with  whom  she  has  been  acqua'nted,  she 
affirms,  that  she  could  instantly  identify.  For  that  object,  she 
has  given  a  catalogue  of  ihose  Priests  whose  names  and  per- 
sons are  in  some  degree  familiarly  known  to  her.  As  the 
Priests  are  often  changing  their  abodes,  and  many  of  them  re- 
sidents in  Montreal  until  a  vacancy  occurs  for  them  in  the 
country  parishes,  in  those  particulars  there  may  be  a  trifling 
mistake;  but  Maria  Monk  solemnly  avers,  that  the  Priests, 
whether  dead  or  Uving,  who  are  enumerated  in  the  subsequent 
catalogue,  either  have  dwelt  or  do  yet  reside  in  the  places  spe- 
cified. When  unexpectedly  and  closely  examined  in  reference 
to  the  Priests  of  the  same  name,  she  particularly  distinguished 
them,  and  pointed  out  the  difference  between  them  in  their 
persons,  gait,  &,c, ;  thus  precluding  all  objection  from  the  fact 
of  there  being  more  than  one  Priest  with  a  similar  appellative. 
This  circumstance  particularly  is  illustrated  by  the  Priesto  named 
Marcoux,  of  whom  she  says  there  are  three  brothers  or  first 
cousins— two  called  Dufresne,  &c.;  each  of  whom  she  graph- 
imIIv  depicts.    It  is  also  certain,  because  she  has  done  it  in 


*     < 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


349 


a  great  vanety  of  instances,  and  in  th?  presence  of  many  dif- 
ferent persons,  all  of  whom  are  well  acquainted  with  them, 
that  she  describes  Lartigue;  Dufresne;  Richard;  Phelan; 
Bonin;  Comte;  Bourgct;  McMahon ;  Kelly  ;  Dcmers ;  Roux ; 
Roque;  Sauvage;  Tabeau;  Marcoux;  Morin;  Duiochcr; 
and  all  the  Roman  Priests  around  Montreal,  with  the  utmo£;t 
minuteness  of  accuracy;  while  the  Chaplain  of  the  Ursuline 
Nunnery  at  Quebec,  Father  DauU\  is  as  exactly  depicted  by 
her,  as  if  her  whole  life  had  been  passed  under  his  surveil- 
lance. Some  of  the  appellatives  in  the  ensuing  catalogue  may 
not  be  correctly  spelt.  Scarcely  any  thing  is  more  difficult 
than  to  acquire  proper  names  in  a  foreiijn  language ;  and  es- 
pecially where  the  pronunciation  itself  is  provincial,  as  is  tho 
case  with  Canadian  French ;  and  when  also  those  titles  have 
to  be  transcribed  from  the  mouth  of  a  person  who  knows  no 
more  of  orthoepy  and  orthography  than  a  Canadian  Nun. 
However,  Maria  Monk  attests,  tliat  the  Priests  to  whom  she  re- 
fers did  reside  at  those  places  which  she  has  dcsip;natcd,  and 
that  she  has  seen  them  all  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery— some 
of  them  very  often,  and  others  on  a  variety  of  occasions. 

Nothing  is  more  improbable,  if  not  impossible,  than  that 
»ny  Papist  girl  should  have  such  an  extensive  acquaintance 
among  Roman  Priests.  In  Canada  especially,  where  the  largo 
majority  of  females  have  little  more  correct  knovvledgo  of  that 
which  occurs  out  of  their  own  district  than  of  Herschel's  as- 
tronomical discoveries,  young  women  cannot  be  personally 
familiar  with  any  Priests,  in  ordinary  cases,  except  those  who 
may  have  been  "  Cures"  of  the  parish  in  which  they  reside,  or 
of  the  immediate  vicinity,  or  an  occasional  visiter  during  the 
absence,  or  sickness,  or  death  of  the  resident  Curate  or  Mis- 
•ionary.  Notwithstanding,  Maria  Monk  delineates  to  the  hfc, 
the  prominent  features,  the  exact  figure,  and  the  obvious  char- 
acteristic exterior  habits  and  personal  appearance  of  more  than 
tne  hundred  and  fifty  of  those  Priests,  scattered  about  in  all 
parts  of  Canada.  Among  others  she  particularly  specifies  the 
following  men;  but  some  of  whom  she  notes  as  dead.  Others 
she  has  named,  but  as  her  recollections  of  ihe.Ti  are  less  dis- 
tinct, they  arc  not  enunjcrated. 

Jean  Jacques  Lartigue,  Bishop  of  Telmcsc,  Montreal.  Tho 
Irish  Priest  McMahon,  who  has  resided  both  in  Montreal  and 
Huehec.  M.  Dufiesne,  67.  Psirlwlas.  L.  Cadicux,  Vicar 
General,   Three  Rivers,   E.  F.  Marcoux,  Maskinor.ge.    S.  N. 

30 


tl 


350 


AFPENPIX. 


•'  I 


) 


I  I 


.  (■ 


hi 


Ui  < 


lliH 


H 


I  •■; 


M''H 


I  I 


]f 


u  i 


it 


h 

I'll      ! 


Dumoulin,  Yamachiche.  A.  Leclerc,  Yomaska.  V.  Fournicr, 
Saie  rfu  Febre.  J.  Demcrs,  5"/.  Gregoire.  C.  B.  Courtain, 
Gentilly.  T.  Pepin,  iS/.  Jca7j.  Ignace  Bourgef,  Montreal. 
The  Priest  Moore,  Missionary.  J.  C.  Prince,  Montreal.  J. 
M.  Sauvage,  Montreal.  J.  Comte,  Montreal.  J.  H.  A.  Roux, 
Vicar  General,  M)n/rea/.  J.  Roque,  Montreal.  A.  Malard,  Mon- 
treal. A.  L.  Hubert^  Montreal.  A.  Satin,  ikfon/reaif.  J.  B.  Roupe, 
Montreal.  Nic.  Dufrcsne,  Montreal.  J.  Richard,  Montreal. 
C.  Fay,  Montreal.  J.  B.  St.  Pierre,  Montreal.  P.  Bonin, 
P.  Phelan,  iWbn/reaZ.  T.  B.  M'Mahon,  Perce.  J.  Marcoux, 
Caghnawaga,  C.  De  Bellefeuille,  Z/oArc  of  Two  Mountains. 
Claude  Leonard,  Montreal.  F.  Durochcr,  Lake  of  two  Moun- 
tains. G.  Belmont,  St.  Francis.  F.  Demers,  Vicar  General, 
St.  Denis.  J.  O.  Giroux,  St.  Benoit.  3.  B.  St.  Germain,  St, 
Laurent.  J.  D.  Delisle,  St.  Cesaire,  J.  M.  Lefebvre,  St.  Gen- 
evieve. P.  Pigeon,  St.  Philippe.  A.  Duransau,  Lachine.  O. 
Chevrefils,  St.  Constant.  Joseph  Quiblier,  Montreal.  Fran- 
cis Humbert,  Montreal.  J.  Arraud,  Montreal.  O.  Archam- 
bault,  Montreal.  J.  Larkin,  Montreal.  F.  Sery,  Montreal.  R. 
Larre,  Montreal.  A.  Macdonald,  Montreal.  F.  Lnrkin,  Mon- 
treal. J.  Beauregard,  Montreal.  R.  Robert,  Montreal.  J. 
Fitz  Patrick,  Montreal.  J.  Toupin,  Montreal.  W.  Baun, 
Montreal.  T.  Filiatreault,  Montreal.  J.  Brady.  Montreal. 
P.  Trudel,  St.  Hyacinth.  John  Grant,  St.  Hyacinth.  J.  De- 
laire,  Chambly.  J.  Desautels,  Chambly.  P.  D.  Ricard,  St. 
Joachim.  Jan.  Leclaire,  Isle  Jesus.  P.  M.  Turcot,  St.  Hose. 
C  Larocque,  Berthier.  T.  Brassard,  St.  Elizabeth.  J.  B. 
Keller,  St.  Elizabeth.  3.  Ravienne,  Lanorate.  J.  T.  Gagno, 
Valtrie,  Gasford  Guingucr,  St.  Alelanie.  L.  Nicholas 
Jacques,  St.  Sulpice.  3.  Renucalde,  St.  Jacques.  T.  Can,  St, 
Esprit,  C.  J.  Ducharme,  St.  Therese.  J.  Valiiee,  St.  Scholas- 
tigue.  3.  J.  Vinet,  Arganteuil.  M.  Power,  Beauharnois.  3. 
B.  Labelle,  Chateauguay.  E.  Bietz,  St.  Constant.  P.  Bedard, 
St.  Remi,  C.  Aubry,  St.  Athanase.  L.  Vinet,  Noyon.  3. 
Roque,  Noyon,    3,  Zeph,   Carrcn.    F.  Berault,  St.  Valenlia, 

A.  Maresseau,  Longueuil.    P.  Erunet, .    J.  Odelin, 

Rtmnilli.    3.  B.  Dupuis, .    L.  Nau,  RouviUe.    A.  O. 

Giroux,  St.  Marc.    G.  Marchesseau, .  J.  B.  Belanger, 

St.  Ours.  H.  Marcotte,  Isle  du  Pads.  E.  Crevier,  Yamaska. 
G.  Arsonault, ; .  Eusebe  Durocher, .  D.  Den- 
is, St.  Rosalie.  F.  X.  Brunct,  St.  Damase.  3.  A.  Boisond, 
St.  Pie.    M.  Quintal,  »S/.  Damase.    L.  Aubry,  Pointe  Claire, 


i" 


f 


i.  i  ''^ 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


351 


P.  Tetro,  Beauharnois.  B.  Ricard,  St.  Constant.  M.  Morin, 
Maakoudu.  J.  Crevier,  Blairjindie.  P.  Grenier,  Chateauguay, 
A.  Durocher,  Pointe  aux  Trembles.  P.  Mercure,  La  Presen- 
tation. R.  Gaulin,  Dorchester.  H.  L.  Girouard.  St.  Hya- 
cinthe,  J.  Paquin.  Blairjindie.  E.  Brassard,  St,  Poly- 
earpe,  J.  Boissonnault,  liivere  des  Prairies,  F.  N.  Blan- 
chet,  Soulanges,  E.  Lavoie,  Blairjindie.  J.  E.  Kelly,  Sorel, 
E.  Morriset,  St.  Cyprian.  H.  Hudon,  Argenteuil.  M.  Brudet, 
St.  Martin.  P.  P.  Archambault,  Vaudreuil.  J.  B.  Boucher, 
La  Prairie.  J.  Quevillon,  St.  Ours.  A.  Chaboillez,  Longu- 
tuil.  P.  J.  Delamothe,  St.  Scholastigue.  T.  Lagard,  St. 
Vincent.  J.  Durocher,  St.  Benoit.  Antoine  Tabeau,  Vicar 
General,  Mm/r^a/.  J.  F.  Hebert,  iS'^  Ours.  F.  A.  Trudeau, 
Montreal.  M.  J.  Felix,  St.  Benoit.  L.  Lamothe,  Berthicr, 
J.  Moirior,  St.  Anne.  F.  J.  Deguise,  Vicar  General,  Varen- 
nes.  J.  B.  Bedard,  St.  Denis.  R.  O.  Brunsau,  Vercheres.  F, 
Portier,  Terrebonne.  P.  D.  Ricard,  Berthier.  h.  G&gxie,  Lache- 
naie.  Joseph  Belanger,  Chambty.  M.  Blanchet,  St.  Charles, 
P.  M.  Mignault,  Chambly.  F.  Labelle  V Assumption,  F. 
Marcoux,  St.  Barthelemi.  N,  L.  Amiot,  Repentiguy.  J.  B, 
Boucher,  Chambly.  P.  Lafranc,  St,  Jtan  Baptiste,  P.  Robi- 
laille,  Monnie.  F.  De  Eellefeuille,  St.  Vincent,  M.  Brassard, 
St.  Elizaboth,  P.  Cousigny,  St,  Mathias,  J.  D.  Dauld. 
Quebec, 

It  is  readily  admitted,  that  any  person  could  take  one  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Registers  of  Lower  Canada,  and  at  his  option 
roark  any  number  of  the  Roman  Priests  in  the  catalogue,  and 
impute  to  them  any  crime  which  be  pleased.  But  if  the  accu- 
ser wero  closely  examined,  and  among  such  a  multitude  of 
Priests,  who  in  all  their  clothing  are  dressed  alike,  were  called 
upon  minutely  to  delineate  them,  it  is  morally  impossible,  that 
he  could  depict  more  than  a  hundred  Priests  dispersed  from  the 
borders  of  Upper  Canada  to  Quebec,  in  as  many  diflferent  pa- 
rishes, with  the  most  perfect  accuracy,  unless  he  was  personally 
and  well  acquainted  with  them. 

Maria  Monk,  however,  does  most  accurately  describe  all  the 
Priests  in  the  preceding  catalogue,  and  repeats  them  at  the  ex- 
piration of  weeks  and  months ;  and  the  question  is  this ;  how 
is  it  possible  that  she  could  have  become  acquainted  with  so 
many  of  that  body,  and  by  what  means  can  she  so  precisely  de- 
pict their  external  appearance  ?— The  startHng,  but  the  only 
plausible  answer  which  can  be  given  to  that  question  is  this  r— > 


i.'l- 


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i 


352 


APPENDIX. 


that  Bhe  has  eccn  them  m  the  Nunnery,  whither,  as  iut  main* 
tains,  most  of  them  constantly  resorted  for  licentious  inter- 
course with  the  Nuns. 

One  other  connected  fact  may  hero  be  introduced.  Maria 
Monk  well  knows  the  late  Lady  Superior  of  the  Charlestown 
Nunnery.  That  acquaintance  could  not  have  been  made  in  the 
United  States,  because  Saint  Mary  St.  George  as  she  called 
herself,  or  Sarah  Burroughs,  daughter  of  the  notorious  Stephen 
Burroughp,  as  is  her  real  name,  removed  to  Canada  at  the  latter 
end  of  May,  1835 ;  nor  could  it  have  been  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Charlestown  Nunnery,  for  at  that  period  Maria 
Monk  was  a  child,  and  was  not  in  any  Convent  except  merely 
as  a  scholar;  and  Mury  St.  George  was  at  Quebec.  How 
then  did  she  become  so  familiar  with  that  far-famed  Lady  as 
to  be  able  to  describe  her  so  exactly  1  The'  only  answer  is, 
that  she  derived  her  knowledge  of  the  Charlestown  Coftvent 
and  of  its  Superior,  from  the  intimations  given,  and  from  in- 
tercourse with  that  Nun  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent. 

Young  females  often  have  been  sent  to  the  Nunneries  in 
Canada  under  the  fallacious  hope  of  obtaining  for  them  a  su* 
perior  education ;  and  very  frequently,  they  are  suddenly  re- 
moved after  being  there  but  a  short  period ;  because  the  per- 
sons to  whose  partial  guardianship  they  are  committed  per- 
ceive that  they  are  in  danger  of  being  ensnared  by  the  Chaplain 
and  his  female  SjTens. 

But  there  are  two  other  particnlars  in  American  Nunnerief, 
the  toleration  of  which  almost  surpasses  credibility. 

In  reference  to  girls,  they  are  permitted  to  visit  their  friends 
even  when  they  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Convent,  only  for 
an  hour  or  two  monthly— if  their  relatives  are  at  a  distance, 
they  sec  them  only  during  the  annual  vacation,  and  often  re- 
main in  the  Nunnery  during  that  term. — No  correspondence  ia 
permitted  between  the  mother,  the  guardian,  the  sister,  or  the 
friends  o  f  the  young  female  in  the  Nunnery  School,  on  either 
side,  witi'  out  the  inspection  of  the  argus-eyed  agent  of  the  In- 
stitution. Parental  advice,  filial  complaints,  and  coniidentini 
communications  are  equally  arrested ;  and  only  furnish  to  the 
Superiors  of  the  establishments,  artifices  to  thwart  the  Seniors, 
to  entargle  the  Juniors,  and  effectually  to  cajole  both  parties. 
Con8eq*^ently,  it  generally  happens,  that  from  one  term  to  an- 
other^ little  or  no  intercourse  exists  between  the  youth  and  her 
relatives;  and  it  is  indubitable,  that  where  any  letteri  do  no- 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


353 


;r,  as  ci.ie  main* 
licentious  inter- 

'oduced.  Maria 
iio  Charlestown 
>een  made  in  the 
;e  as  she  called 
ttorious  Stephen 
lada  at  the  latter 
to  the  establish- 
at  period  Maria 
it  except  merely 
Quebec.  How 
r-famed  Lady  as 
only  answer  ie, 
estowri  Coftveni 
3n,  and  from  in- 
ivent. 

he  Nunneries  in 
;  for  them  a  su- 
are  suddenly  re* 
because  the  per- 
commitled  per- 
by  the  Chaplain 

rican  Nunnerief, 
bility. 

isit  their  friends 
onvcnt,  only  for 
re  at  a  distance, 
n,  and  often  re- 
orrespondence  is 
the  sister,  or  the 
chool,  on  either 
agent  of  the  In* 
and  confidentinl 

y  furnish  to  the 
vart  the  Seniors, 

ole  both  parties. 

one  term  to  an* 

e  youth  and  her 
ny  letters  do  no- 


minally pass  between  them,  they  are  forgeries;  the  real  letters 
being  surreptitiously  detained.  Those  felonious  regulations 
furnish  ample  scope  for  the  initiation  of  girls  just  entering  upon 
womanhood,  into  all  the  wickedness  of  the  Nunnery :  while 
the  girls  themselves  are  unconscious  of  the  design,  and  the 
Nuns,  those  nefarious  artificers  of  the  iniquity,  in  subserviency 
to  the  Priests,  in  case  of  necessity,  can  exculpate  themselves 
apparently  from  all  participation  in  the  treachery  and  crimes. 

In  the  nunneries  and  conventual  schools  in  the  United  States 
there  is  a  sort  ot  fairy  land^  talked  about  by  the  nuns  to  the 
cider  girls.    It  if  called  the  "  Aun«'  Island,"    That  country  is 
always  described  as  an  earthly  paradise ;  and  to  girls  who  are 
manifestly  fascinated  by  the  witcheries  of  the  nuns,  and  in 
whom  moral  sensibility  has  become  blunted  by  the  unmeaning 
superstitions  which  they  witness,  and  which  they  mechanically 
perform,  a  visit  to  the  "  Nuna^  Island^"  is  always  proposed  as 
the  greatest  privilege,  and  the  most  costly  reward,  which  can 
be  given  for  constant  obsequiousness  to  the  nuns,  and  unre' 
served  compliance  with  their  requirements.  The  term  "  Nun»* 
Island"  is  thus  used  to  express  the  nunneries  in  Canada,  and 
probably  some  similar  institutions  in  the  United  States,  whero 
they  are  not  too  difficult  of  access.    At  all  events,  girls  just  en- 
tering upon  the  character  of  women,  after  proper  training,  are 
finally  gratified  with  a  visit  to  the  "  Nuns*  Island."    They  are 
taken  to  Montreal,  and  in  the  nunneries  there  are  at  once 
taught  "  the  mystery  of  iniquity ;"  in  all  the  living  reahty  which 
Maria  Monk  describes.    Those  girls  from  the  United  States, 
who  are  represented  as  novices,  in  Maria  Monk's  *'  Awful  Dis- 
closures," page  154,  were  young  ladies  from  the  United  States, 
who  had  been  decoyed  to  visit  the  "  Nuns'  Island,"  and  who, 
not  being  Papists,  often  were  found  very  intractable;  but  pos- 
terior circumstances  enforce  the  belief,  that  having  found  re- 
sistance vain,  they  had  not  returned  to  their  school  ere  they 
were  duly  qualified  to  continue  the  course  into  which  they  had 
been  coerced,  so  as  fully  to  elude  all  possibility  of  discovery  and 
exposure.    That  mother  who  intrusts  her  daughter  to  a  nun- 
nery school,  is  chargeable  with  the  high  crime  of  openly  con- 
ducting  her  into  the  chambers  of  pollution,  and  the  path  to  irr»- 
ligion,  and  the  bottomless  pit. 

These  combined  circumstances  satisfactorily  prove  that  the 
narrative  of  Maria  Monk  should  be  believed  by  all  impartial  per- 
sons ;  at  'east,  until  other  evidence  is  adduced,  and  the  ofief 
SO* 


354 


APPENDIX. 


li 


: 


I*  t'- 


i    \ 


m^ 


•I  <.M  \ 


of  exploring  the  Hotel  Dicu  Nunnery,  by  the  Ncw-Vork  Pro- 
tcBtant  Association,  has  been  accepted  and  decided. 

3.  Additional  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Maria  Monk's  narrative 
is  deduced  from  the  exact  conformity  of  the  facta  which  she  statet 
concerning  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery ,  tphen  compared  with  the 
authoritative  principles  of  the  Jesuit  Priesthood  as  recorded 
in  their  own  duly  sanctioned  volumes.  It  is  essential  to  remark, 
that  of  those  books  mIio  knows  nothing;  that  she  has  never 
seen  one  of  them,  and  if  she  could  grasp  them,  that  they  would 
impart  no  illumination  to  her  mind,  being  in  Latin ;  and  yet  in 
many  momentous  particulars,  neither  Lartigue  nor  any  one  of 
the  Jesuit  Priests  now  in  Montreal,  who  was  educated  in 
France,  could  more  minutely  and  accurately  furnish  an  expo> 
sition  or  practical  illustration  of  the  atrocious  themes,  than 
Maria  Monk  has  unconsciously  done. 

Maria  Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures,"  are  reducible  to  three 
classes:  intolerable  sensuality ;  diversified  murder;  and  most 
scandalous  mendacity ;  comprehending  flagrant,  and  obdurate, 
and  unceasing  violations  of  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  ninth  com- 
mandments. 

T7ic  ninth  rommandment :  Falsehood.  Of  this  baseness, 
five  specimens  only  shall  suffice. 

Sanchez^  a  very  renowned  author,  in  his  work  on  "  Morality 
and  the  Precepts  of  the  Decalogue,"  part  2,  books,  chap.  6,  no. 
13,  thus  decides :  "  A  person  may  take  an  oath  that  he  has  not 
done  any  certain  thing,  though  in  fact  he  has.  This's  extremely 
convenient,  and  is  also  very  just,  when  necessary  to  your  health, 
honour,  and  prosperity !"  Charli  in  his  Propositions,  no.  6,  af- 
firms that  '*He  who  is  not  bound  to  state  the  truth  before 
swearing,  is  not  bound  by  his  oath."  Taberna  in  his  vol.  2, 
part  2,  tract  2,  chap.  31,  p.  288,  asks :  "  Is  a  witness  bound  to 
declare  the  truth  before  a  lawful  judge  1"  To  which  he  replies  : 
*'  No,  if  his  deposition  will  injure  himself  or  his  posterity."  Lay- 
tnann  in  his  works,  hook  4,  tract  2,  chap.  2,  p.  73,  proclaims: 
*•  It  is  not  sufficient  for  an  oath,  that  we  uao  the  formal  words, 
if  we  have  not  the  intention  and  will  to  swear,  and  do  not  sin* 
ctrely  invoke  God  as  a  witness."  All  those  principles  are  sanc- 
tioned by  Suarez  in  his  "Precepts  of  Law,"  book  3,  chap.  9, 
assertion  2,  p.  473,  where  he  says,  "  If  any  one  has  promised  or 
contracted  without  intention  to  promise,  and  is  called  upon  oath 
to  answer,  may  simply  answer,  ko  ;  and  may  swear  to  that 
<icniaL" 


IICVXEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUDJECT. 


355 


)f  this  baseness, 


The  idea  of  obtaiiuitp;  truth,  therefore,  from  n  ihorough-Roing 
Papist,  upon  any  subject  in  which  his  ''honour^"  is  concerned— 
and  every  Papist's  honour  is  indissolubly  conjoined  with  "  the 
Church"— is  an  absurdity  so  gnat,  thut  it  cannot  be  U«itcncd  to 
with  patience,  while  the  above  decisions  are  the  authorized  dog- 
mas which  the  Roman  Priests  inculcate  among  their  followers. 
How  well  the  nuns  of  Montreal  have  imbibed  those  Jesuitical 
instructions,  Maria  Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures"  omplyreveaL 
The  Sixth  Commandment :  MunoEn.  The  following  mis- 
eellaneous  decisions  are  extracted  from  the  works  of  the  rego* 
larly  sanctioned  llomish  authors,  of  the  very  highest  character 
and  rank  in  that  community. 

In  his  famous  volume  called  "Aphorisms,"  p.  178,  Emman- 
uel Sa  writes—"  You  may  kill  any  person  who  may  be  able  to 
put  you  to  death— judge  and  witnesses— because  it  is  self-de- 
fence." 

ffenriquez,  in  his  "  Sum  of  Moral  Theology,"  vol.  1,  book  14, 
chap.  10,  p.  869,  decides  that  "a  Priest  is  not  criminal,  if  he  kill 
the  husband  of  a  woman  with  whom  he  is  caught  in  adultery.'* 
Airault  published  a  number  of  propositions.  One  of  them 
enys,  that  "a  person  may  secretly  kill  another  who  attempts  to 
destroy  his  reputation,  although  the  facts  are  true  which  he  pub- 
lished." The  following  must  be  cited  in  Latin.  "Anlicitum 
sit  mulieri  procurare  abortum  1  Posset  ilium  excutcre,  ne  ho- 
norem  suum  amittat,  qui  illi  multo  pretiosior  est  ipsa  vita." 
"  Au  liceat  mulieri  conjugate  sumere  pharmacum  sterilitatis? 
Ita  satius  est  ut  hoc  facial,  quam  ut  marito  dcbitum  conjugale 
recuset."   Censures  319, 322,  327. 

In  his  Moral  Theology,  vol.  4,  book  32,  sec.  2,  problem  5,  Ea- 
cobar  determines,  that  "  it  is  lawful  to  kill  an  accuser  whoso 
testimony  may  jeopard  your  life  and  honour." 

Guimenius  promulged  his  seventh  Proposition  in  these 
words ;  "  You  may  charge  your  opponent  with  false  crimes  to 
destroy  his  credit;  and  you  may  also  kill  him." 

Marin  wrote  a  work  called  "  Speculative  and  Moral  The- 
ology." In  vol.  3,  tract  23,  disputation  8,  sec.  5,  no.  63,  p.  448, 
are  found  the  following  sentences :  "  Licet  procurare  abortum, 
ne  puella  infametur."  That  doctrine  is  admitted,  "  to  evado 
personal  disgrace,  and  to  conceal  the  infamy  of  Monks  and 
Nvns."  No.  67,  p.  429.  In  no.  75,  p.  430,  of  thn  same  work, 
Jlfarin  writes :  "Navarrus,  Arragon,  Banncz,  Ilenriquex,  Sa, 
Sanchez,  Palao,  ojid  olhcrp,  all  say,  that  a  woman  may  use 


Zd6 


APPENDIX. 


if 


\h^ 


';•  i^.H 


.1 


r       ! 


'    I 


not  only  inissione  sanguinis,  eed  aliis  medics  mentis,  etsi  indo 
pereat  foetus."  With  that  doctrine  also  agrees  Egidiu*^  in  hiti 
"Explication  of  the  Decalogue,"  vol.  6,  book  6,  chap.  1,  doubt 
A  \  and  Diana  in  his  work  upon  Morality,  part  6>  tract  8,  resolu- 
tion 37,  fully  ratifies  his  sonction. . 

Gobatus  published  a  work  which  he  entitled,  "  Morality,"  and 
in  vol.2,  part  2,  tract  5,  chap.  9,  sec.  8,  p.  328,  is  the  fullowin;; 
edifying  specimen  of  Popish  morals :  "Persons  may  innocent* 
)y  desire  to  be  drunk,  if  any  great  good  will  arise  from  it.  A 
■on  who  inherits  wealth  by  his  father's  death,  may  rejoice  that 
when  he  was  intoiiicatcd,  he  murdered  his  father."  Accordin;; 
to  which  combined  propositions,  a  man  may  make  himself  drunk 
expressly  to  kill  bia  parent,  and  yet  be  guiltless. 

Busenbaum  wrote  a  work  denominated  "Moral  Theolog)-," 
which  was  enlarged  and  explained  by  Lacroix,  In  vol.  1,  p. 
296,  is  the  following  position :  "  In  all  the  cases  where  a  man 
has  a  right  to  kill  any  person,  another  may  do  it  for  him."  But 
we  have  already  heard  by  Escobar  that  any  Roman  Priest  has 
a  right  to  kill  Maria  Monk ;  and  therefore  any  Papist  may  mur- 
der her  for  them. 

AlagonOf  in  his  "  Compend  of  the  Sum  of  Theology,"  by 
Thomas  Aquinas,  question  94,  p.  230,  "  Sums"  up  all  the  Ro- 
mish system  in  this  comprehensively  blasphemous  oracular 
adage.  "  By  the  command  of  God^  it  is  lawful  to  murder  tiu 
innocentt  to  rob,  and  to  commit  lewdness  ;  and  thus  to  fulfil  his 
mandate,  is  our  duty.** 

The  seventh  commandment.— Jn  his  Aphorisms,  p.  80,  and 
p.  259,  Sa  thus  decides— "  Copulari  ante  benedictionem,  aut 
nullum  aut  leve  peccatum  est ;  quin  etiam  expedit,  si  multuni 
ilia  diflTeratur."—*' Potest  et  femina  qusque,  et  mas,  pro  turpi 
corporis  usu,  protium  accipere  et  petere." 

Hurtado  iaauod  a  volume  of  "  Disputations  and  Difficulties." 
At  p.  476,  is  the  following  genuine  Popish  rule  of  life—"  Car- 
nal intercourse  before  marriage  is  not  unlawful."  So  teaches 
that  Jesuit  oracle. 

Dicastillo,  in  his  work  upon  "  Righteousness  and  other  car- 
dinal  Virtues,"  p.  87,  thus  asks—"  An  puella,  quae  per  vin  op* 
primitur  teneatur  clamare  et  opem  implorare  ne  violetur  V*  The 
anaweris  this — "  Non  videtur  teneri  impedire  peccatum  alteriua 
— «ed  mere  passive  se  habere." 

Escobar,  in  his  "  Moral  Theology,"  p.  32C,  327,  328,  of  vol 
4,  determinos  that  "  a  man  who  abducia  a  woman  from  affeo 


',  * 


HKVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUDJECT. 


357 


8"  up  all  iho  Re 


iSon  expressly  lo  marry  her,  is  guilty  of  morliil  ^in,but  a  Priest 
who  forcibly  violates  her  through  lust,  ineurs  no  censure." 

Tamburin  unfolds  the  character  of  Romanism  in  his  "Mo- 
ral  Theology,"  p.  186,  in  a  lengthened  discussion  of  the  follow- 
ing characteristic  inquiry— "Quantum  pro  usu  corporis  sui 
juste  cxigat  mulier f— The  reply  is,  "do  mcrctrice  et  de  fcmi- 
oa  honosta  bivo  eonjugata,  aut  non." 

Fcgeli  wrote  a  book  of  "Practical  Questions;"  and  on  p. 
397,  is  the  following— "Under  what  obligation  is  he  who  defiles 
a  virgin  T'—Tho  answer  is  this— "  Besides  the  obligation  of 
penance,  he  incurs  none ;  quia  puella  habot  jus  usum  sui  cor- 
poris conecdoadi." 

Trachala  published  a  volume  which  he  facetiously  entitled 
the  "  Laver  of  Conscience  j"  and  at  p.  90,  he  presents  us  with 
this  astounding  recipe  to  purify  the  conscience— "An  Concubi- 
nari>U9  sit  absolvcndus  antcquam  coneubinam  dimittat?"  To 
which  he  replies—"  Si  ilia  concubina  sit  valdc  bona  et  utilis  eco- 
noma,  et  sic  nullam  aliam  possit  habere,  esset  absolvcndus." 

From  the  prior  decisions,  combined  with  numberless  others 
which  might  be  extracted  from  the  tvorks  of  the  Romish  au- 
t-.iors,  it  is  obvious,  that  the  violations  of  the  seventh  command- 
ment, arc  scarcely  enumerated  by  the  Papal  priesthood  among 
venial  sins.  Especially  if  we  consider  the  definition  of  a  pros- 
titute by  the  highest  Popish  authority;  for  in  the  Decretals, 
Diaiinction  31,  in  the  Glos?,  is  found  this  savory  adage—"  Mc- 
rctrix  est,  qucc  admiscrit  plures  quam  viginti  tria  honiinum  mil- 
iiii !"  That  is  the  infallible  attestation  to  the  truth  of  Maria 
Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures." 

4.  The  antecedent  narrative  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  is 
confirmed  by  the  universal  and  constant  practice  of  Roman 
Priests  in  all  Convents.  Among  the  works  of  William  Hunt- 
ington, is  a  correspondence  between  himself  and  a  young  lady 
who  was  converted  by  his  ministry.  The  reventh  letter  from 
Miss  M.  contains  the  following  passage  :— 

"  /f  w  a  shams  for  teomen  to  approach  those  con/essionaU, 
If  they  were  never  wise  in  scenes  of  iniquity  before,  the  Priest 
will  instnict  them,  by  asking  the  most  filthy  questions.  I  waa 
confined  to  my  bed  three  days  from  my  first  confession ;  and 
thought  I  would  never  go  again,  being  so  abashed  by  the  abom- 
inations he  had  put  in  my  head.  I  would  just  as  soon  recom- 
mend scalding  water  to  cure  Anthony's-fire,  or  a  wet  bed  in  an 
icchou.se  to  cure  an  ague,  as  recommend  a  sinner  to  those  ac- 


358 


APPENDIX. 


It       M 

'M[!'  i  I 

•ill.''  ?  ' . 

!'■  1(1' 


rurscd  lies,  Roman  pennncc,  and  Auricular  ConfcsBion."^ 
The  mental  puriiy  of  Nuns  consists  in  a  life  totally  "contrar/ 
to  the  laws  of  God,  of  modesty,  and  decency.  They  are  con- 
stantly exposed  to  the  obscene  interrogations,  and  the  lewd 
actions  of  the  Priests.  Notwithstanding  God  has  fixed  a  bar 
on  every  female  mind,  it  is  broken  through  by  the  Priests  put- 
ting question!*  to  them  upon  those  subjects,  as  the  scripturo  de- 
clares, which  ought  not  to  be  named  !  The  uncommon  attrac- 
tions of  the  young  women  in  Convents  generally  indicate  tho 
greatest  unchaslity  among  them.  I  have  known  girls,  sent  for 
education  to  the  Convent  where  1  was,  who  regularly  stripped 
themselves  of  every  thing  they  could  obtain  from  their  friends; 
which,  by  the  artful  insinuations  of  the  Nuns,  was  given  to 
them  and  the  Priests.  The  Roman  priesthood  may  well  bo 
called  a  sorceress,  and  their  doctrine  '  the  wine  of  fornication,' 
for  nothing  but  the  powers  of  darkness  could  work  up  the 
young  female  mind  to  receive  it ;  unless  by  the  subtlety  of  tho 
devil,  and  the  vile  artifices  of  the  Nuns.  I  shudder  at  the  idea 
of  young  ladies  going  into  a  Convent ;  and  also  at  parents  who 
send  their  children  to  be  educated  in  a  Nunnery;  where  their 
daughters  are  entrapped  by  the  Nuns  into  the  snare  of  tiie 
Priests,  with  whom  they  are  accomplices,  and  for  whom  tho 
most  subtle  of  them  are  decoys,  whose  feigned  sanctity  is  only 
a  cover  for  the  satantc  arts  of  which  they  are  complete  mis- 
tresses, and  by  which,  through  the  delusions  of  the  mother  of 
harlots,  being  buried  alive  within  the  walls  of  a  Convent,  they 
*drinkof  the  wincof  her  fornication,'  until  their  souls  pass  into 
the  pit  of  destruction." — The  above  extract  is  from  the  seventh 
letter  of  *'  Correspondence  between  Miss  M.  and  Mr.  H."  in 
Huntington's  Works ;  and  exposes  the  Nunneries  in  France. 

Geoi^e  D.  Emeline,  who  had  been  a  Popish  Priest,  in  hia 
"Eight  Letters,"  giving  an  account  of  his  "Journey  into 
Italy,"  thus  details  the  nature  of  the  intimacy  which  then  ex- 
isted between  the  Priests  and  Nuns  on  the  European  Continent. 
"  A  young  Monk  at  Milan,  Preacher  to  the  Benedictine  Nuns, 
when  he  addressed  them,  added  to  almost  every  sentence  in 
his  discourse,  'my  most  dear  and  lovely  sisters,  whom  1  lovo 
from  the  deepest  bottom  of  my  heart.'  When  a  monk  becomoB 
fir^her  or  Chaplain  to  a  Nunnery,  his  ^  ^ys  are  passed  in  con- 
ttant  voluptuousness ;  for  the  Nuns  will  gratify  their  Confes- 
sor in  every  thing,  that  he  may  be  equally  indulgent  to  them.'* 
— Emeline^s  Lettersip.  313. 


nEVIEW  or  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT.  359 


Confession."— 
(tally  "contrary 


"  A  regular  Abbot  of  a  Monastery  in  Italy,  talking  with  me, 
said-' Melius  est  habere  nullam  quam  aliquem— It  is  belter  to 
have  none  than  any  womna'  I  asked  him  what  he  meant; 
he  replied,  Tecause,  when  a  person  is  not  tied  to  one,  he  may 
make  use  of  mnny  :'  and  his  practice  was  conformable  to  his 
doctrine ;  for  he  slept  in  the  same  bed  with  three  young  women 
tv(  ry  ni.:;lit.  He  was  a  most  insatiable  Exactor  and  Oppressor 
of  tje  people  who  rented  the  lands  of  the  Abbey;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  Farmers  complained  of  him  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  the  District.  The  Archbishop  sent  the  Provost,  tho 
Farmer-,  nnd  sixty  of  the  Serjeants  at  night,  to  seize  him  and 
his  i'n'Miil '  companions.  They  took  the  Abbot  in  bed,  and  hav- 
ing put  on  him  a  morning-gown;  and  having  tied  his  threo 
cuncuf.iiua  tnd  himself  back  to  back,  placed  them  in  a  cart,  "nd 
coiiducteti  ilit-m  to  the  Archbishop's  residence,  in  Bonnonia: 
who  ih  -n  n  used  to  judge  him  ;  but  sent  him  and  his  females 
to  the  Monastery  of  Saint  Michael;  mto  which,  with  some 
difficulty,  he  was  admitted  after  midnight,  in  consequence  of 
the  Provost  assurin.u;  the  Friars,  that  if  they  would  not  receive 
the  Abbot,  they  would  procure  his  prelatical  dres5>,  and  escort 
him  nnd  the  young  women  in  procession  through  the  city,  and 
back  to  his  own  Monastery  the  same  day  at  noon.  The  fe- 
males were  ordered  away,  and  the  Abbot  was  appointed  to  re- 
main in  his  monastery  for  fifteen  days  for  penance,  until  tho 
story  had  censed  to  circulate.  I  was  an  eyewitness  of  that 
myself,  when  I  was  in  the  Monastery  of  St.  Michael  in  tho 
wood."— Kmelirie's  Letters,  pp.  3S7,  3S8,  389. 

That  the  Nunneries  in  Portugal,  os  well  as  among  those 
l)Cople  in  India  who  are  subject  to  the  Romish  priesthood,  are  of 
the  eanie  character  precisel}',  as  Maria  Monk  describes  tho 
Priests  nnd  Nuns  in  Canndn,  is  proved  by  Victorin  de  Faria, 
who  had  been  a  Brahman  in  India  ;  and  who  afterward  resided 
as  a  Roman  Priust  in  the  Paulist  Monastery  at  Lisbon. 

"The  regular  Priests  in  India,"  says  Faria,  "have  become 
what  the  bonzes  where  at  Japan.  The  Nuns  were  the  disci- 
plesof  Diana,  and  the  nunneries  sera Djlios  for  the  monks;  as 
1  have  proved  to  be  the  cavse  in  Lisbon,  by  facts  concerning 
those  nuns  who  were  more  often  in  the  family  way  than  com 
mon  women.  The  Jesuits  in  the  Indies  made  themselves 
BralimanH  in  or'ler  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  that  caste,  whoso 
idolatrous  rites  nnd  superstitious  practices  they  also  externally 
adopted.*'— Among  other  privileges  which  they  posaeased,  Fa- 


Ml 


l! 


11    r 


.1 


I'' 


tl 


liiii 


'. 


iii!  1 


f' 


iill^i 


I     I 


*         '\> 


lin 


360 


APPENDIX. 


ria  enumerates  the  following,  as  dotailed  irom  his  own  pnor 
experience  as  a  Brahman.  "Never  to  be  put  to  death  for  any 
crime  whatever;  and  to  enjoy  the  favours  of  every  woman  who 
pleased  them,  for  a  Priest  sanctifies  the  woman  upon  whom  ho 
bestows  hia  attentions."  That  is  the  true  Papist  doctrine,  as 
rliovvn  by  Maria  Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures;"  confirmed  by 
the  Canadian  carpenter  in  Mr.  Johnson's  house  at  Montreal ; 
and  ratified  by  Pope  Gregory  Xlll.  in  the  Decretals  and  Ca- 
nons, in  the  Corpus  Juris  Canonici.— Secrets  of  Nunneries  dis- 
closed by  Scipio  de  Ilicci.  p.  217. 

The  Nunneries  in  Italy  during  the  present  generation  are  of 
the  same  description.  Maria  Catharine  Barni,  Ma.ia  Mag- 
dalen Sicini,  and  Victoire  Bcntdetti,  of  the  Nun.iery  called 
Santa  Crocc;  all  acknowledged,  that  they  had  bejn  seduced 
at  confession,  and  that  they  had  habitually  maintained  crimi- 
nal intercourse  with  a  Priest  called  Pacehiani,  wao  absolved 
his  guilty  companions  after  the  commission  of  their  crimes.— 
Secrets  of  Nunneries  disclosed  by  Scipio  de  llirci.  pp.  CO,  CI. 

Si.x  Nuns  of  the  Convent  of  Catharine  at  Pistuia  declared, 
that  the  Priests  who  visited  the  Convent  committed  a  "  thou- 
eand  indecorous  acts.  They  utter  the  worst  expressions,  say- 
ing that  we  should  look  upon  it  as  a  great  happiness,  that  we 
have  the  power  of  satisfyi.ig  our  appetites  without  the  annoy 
ance  of  children;  and  that  we  should  not  hesitate  to  take  our 
pleasr.rcs.  Men,  who  have  contrived  to  get  the  keys,  coino 
into  the  Convent  during  the  ni^ht,  which  they  have  spent  in 
t!ic  most  dissipated  rr.unner."  That  is  the  precise  delineation 
of  the  Canadian  Nunneries;  into  whieh  other  men  besides 
Priests  are  admitted,  if  the  parties  are  willing  to  pay  the  en- 
trance bribe  to  the  Chaplain.— Secrets  of  Nunnerite,  by  Scipio 
de  Ricci.  pp.  80,  SI. 

Flavia  Perraccini,  Prioress  of  the  Nunnery  of  Catharine  of 
Pisloia,  revealed  what  she  knew  of  that  and  other  Nunneries, 
All  the  Priests  "are  of  the  same  character.  They  all  have  tho 
same  ma.xims  and  the  same  conduct.  They  are  on  more  inti- 
mate terms  with  the  Nuns  than  if  they  were  married  to  them. 
It  is  the  same  at  fjucia,  at  Pisa,  at  Prato,  and  at  Perugia.  The 
Superiors  do  not  know  even  the  smallest  part  of  the  enormous 
wicl'.cdncss  that  goes  on  between  the  Monks  and  the  Nuns."— 
Secrets  of  Nunneries,  by  Scipio  de  Ricci.  p.  93.  That  statement 
»  so  exactly  conformed  to  Maria  Monk's  "Awful  Disclosures," 
that  were  it  not  a  fact  that  .•sli^had  never  seen  Scipio  de  Ricci'a 


HEVIEW  OF  THE  WHOLE  SUBJECT. 


361 


m  his  own  pnof 
to  death  for  any 
very  woman  who 
n  upon  whom  ho 
ipist  doctrine,  as 
;"  eon  firmed  by 
lae  ot  Montrejl  j 
^cretals  and  Ca- 
L)f  Nunneries  dis- 

2[eneratio'i  aro  of 
ni,  Ma. la  Mag- 
Nun  .lery  called 
fid  bejn  seduced 
laintained  crimi- 
ni,  wao  absolved 
3f  their  crimes.— 
lieci.  pp.  GO,  CI. 
Pistuia  declared, 
imttted  a  "thou- 
D.xpressiong,  say- 
pppincss,  that  w© 
ihoul  the  annoy 
sitate  to  take  our 
the  key?,  coino 
ley  have  spent  in 
recisc  delineation 
her  men  besides 
g  to  pay  the  en- 
merit  p,  by  Scipia 

y  of  Cathariui:  of 
other  Nunnnrios. 

hey  all  have  tho 
are  on  more  inii- 
narried  to  them, 
at  Perupiia.  Thu 
of  the  encrmoua 
ml  tho  Nuns."— 

That  statement 
ful  Disclo.sures," 
Scipio  de  Ricci'd 


work,  it  might  almost  be  supposed  that  some  part  of  her  nar- 
rative had  been  transcribed  from  it. 

Foggini  of  Rome,  also  wrote  to  Scipio  de  Ricci  and  inform- 
ed him— "I  know  a  monastery  in  which  a  Jesuit  used  to  make 
the  Nuns  lift  up  their  clothes,  assuring  them  that  they  thereby 
performed  an  act  of  virtue,  because  they  overcame  a  natural 
repugnance."— Secrets  of  Nunneries,  p.  lOl.  That  is  a  very 
extraordinary  illustration  of  the  turpitude  of  the  Roman  Priest- 
hood ;— because  that  doctrine  is  a  principle  which  they  con- 
stantly inculcate ;  and  such  is  the  invariable  practice  in  the 
Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery,  that  the  Nuns  were  obliged  to  fulfil,  for 
the  beastly  gratification  of  the  Roman  Priests  who  visited  that 
house,  which  is  "  the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chambers 
of  death."    Proverbs  7:  27. 

It  is  superfluous  to  multiply  similar  extracts,  Scipio  de  Ricci 
was  a  Popish  prelate,  regularly  commissionea  by  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany  to  explore  the  Nunneries ;  and  in  conse- 
quence of  his  authentic  developments,  the  Jesuits  and  Domini- 
cans, and  the  dignified  Papal  ecclesiastics,  with  the  two  Popes, 
Pius  VI.  and  Pius  VII.  all  opposed,  reviled,  condemned,  and 
worried  him  almost  to  death. 

One  quotation  more  shall  close  this  survey.  Pope  Paid  III. 
maintained  at  Rome,  forty-five  thousand  courtesans.  Pope 
Sixtus  IV.  ordered  a  number  of  edifices  to  be  erected  expressly 
for  the  accomodation  of  the  semi-Nuns  of  Rome,  from  whose 
impurity  he  derived  a  large  annual  revenue,  under  tho  form  of  a 
license;  besides  which,  the  prices  oi  absolution  for  the  different 
violations  of  the  seventh  commandment  are  as  regularly  fixed 
as  tho  value  of  beads,  soul-masses,  blessed  water,  and  every 
other  article  of  Popish  manufacture.— Paolo,  Hist.  Council  do 
Trent,  ^ook  I.  Anno  1537. 

The  preceding  observations,  it  is  believed,  will  remove  the 
doubts  from  the  mind  of  every  impartial  inquirer,  respecting  the 
credibility  of  Maria  Monk's  narrative  :  nevertheless,  a  few  ad 
ditional  remarks  may  not  be  irrelevant :  especially  as  there  is  a 
marvellous  skepticism  in  reference  to  the  admission  of  valid 
testimony  concerning  the  Roman  priesthood,  their  system  and 
practice.  We  are  deafened  with  clamour  for  proof  to  substan- 
tiate Maria  Monk's  history;  but  that  demand  is  tantamount  to 
the  declaration—"  I  will  not  beUeve." 

In  anticipation  of  speedy  death,  and  an  immediate  appear- 
ance at  the  dread  tribunal  of  Jehovah,  Maria  Monk  commiinica- 


I  h 


\. 


I! 


3G2 


APPENDIX. 


h:l.; 


ted  to  Mr.  Tappan,  the  Chaplain  at  Bcllcvue,  one  of  the  be- 
nevolent institutions  belonging  to  the  city  of  New  York,  tha 
principal  facts  in  her  "Awful  Disclosures."    After  her  unex- 
pected recovery,  she  personally  appeared  at  Montreal,  expressly 
and  openly,  to  promulge  her  allegations  of  atrocious  chmea 
against  the  chief  Roman  Ecclesiastics  in  that  city,  who  were 
armed  with  power,  and  having  nearly  ail  the  population  her 
infuriated  enemies.    There  she  remained  almost  four  weeks, 
constantly  daring  the  Roman  Priests  and  Nuns  in  vain.    It  is 
true,  Dr.  Robertson  in  his  affidavit  says,  that  he  was  willJnjj 
"to  take  the  necessary  steps  for  a  full  investigation,  if  a  direct 
charge  were  made  against  any  particular  individual  of  a  crimi- 
nal nature."    Now  if  Maria  Blonk's  charges  are  not  direct, 
OF  A  CRIMINAL  NATURE,  and  against  particular  individuals 
— what  charges  can  be  so  characterized!  The  fact  is  this  :— 
Dr.  Robertson  would  no  more  dare  to  issue  a  warrant  for  tlio 
apprehension  of  Lartigue,  or  any  of  the  inferior  Roman  PriestB 
in  Montreal,  than  ho  would  dare  publicly  to  strike  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Garrison,  or  the  Governor  of  Canada  upon  mil- 
itary parade.    If  any  Papist  had  stated  to  him  the  same  fnci^ 
concerning  a  Protestant,  cr  Protestant  Minister,  and  offered 
to  confirm  them  by  his  worthless  oath,  he  would  have  issued 
his  process  at  once;  but  Dr.  Robertson  knows,  that  in  tho 
present  state  of  Canadian  soc'cty,  Roman  Priests  can  do  what 
ihey  please  ;  and  no  man  dares  to  reprove,  much  less  to  "  take 
any  necessary  steps  for  a  full  investigation"  of  their  crimes,    n 
the  Jesuits  and  Nuns  at  Montreal  are  anxious  for  a  full  und 
impartial  scrutiny  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  Convent,  Maria  Monk  ii 
ready  to  oblige  them  with  some  facilities  for  that  object;  pro- 
vided she  may  carry  them  out  to  ail  their  extent  and  appli- 
cation.   Mr,  Ogden  haa  one  affidavit,  and  knows  the  whole 
matter ;  as  can  incontestably  be  proved  by  Mr.  A.  P.  Hart,  an 
Attorney  of  Montreal ;  and  we  recommend  Dr.  Robertson  to 
issue  his  warrant  for  the  apprehension  of  Lartigue,  Bonin,  Du- 
fresne,  and  Richards,  they  are  enough  to  begin  with ;  and  if 
Mn  Ogden  will  carry  the  facts  with  which  he  is  acquainted  to 
the  Grand  Jury,  one  witness  in  New  York  is  ready  to  ap- 
pear; and  Dr.  Robertson  will  find  his  hands  full  of  employ- 
meati  if  he  will  only  "  take  the  necessary  steps"  to  procure  two 
or  three  other  persons  who  shall  be  'pointed  out  to  him  in  ih* 
Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery.    Therefore,  until  Dr.  Robertson  com- 
nicncos  some  iucipient  measures  as  a  Magistrate,  townrda  "  th« 
I 


t 


REVIEW  OF  THE  V/HOLE  SUBJECT. 


S63 


necessary  steps  for  a  full  investigation,"  ns  he  sny?,  wg  shall 
be  forced  to  believe,  that  the  printer  made  a  mistake  in  his  affi- 
davit, and  put  willing  for  unwilling. 

The  cavilling  call,  however,  for  additional  evidence  to  be  ad- 
duced by  Maria  Monk,  ia  manifestly  futile.    That  testimony 
is  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Priests  alone  who  are  crimina- 
ted.   Maria  Monk  reiterates  her  charges  agcinst  the  Romish 
Ecclesiastics  of  Canada  and  their  Nuns;  and  has  solemnly 
sworn  that  they  are  true.    What  more  can  she  dol    What 
more  can  be  required  of  her?  Nothing,  but  to  searca  the  premi- 
««*,  to  see  whether  the  statements  wliioh  she  has  mr,de  are  cor- 
rect. A  Committee  of  the  New-Ycrk  Protestant  Association  are 
willing  to  accompany  her  to  Montreal ;  to  walk  through  tho 
Hotel  Dieu  Nunnery  in  company  with  any  Gentleman  of  Mon- 
treal, and  mvestigate  the  truth  without  favour  or  partiality.  Ma- 
ria Monk  is  willing  to  submit  the  whole  afiair  to  that  short,  and 
easy,  and  sensible  test ;  in  which  there  is  no  possibility  of  dc- 
cepiion.    It  does  not  depend  upon  credibility  of  witnesses,  con- 
flicting evidence,  personal  friendship,  or  religious  prejudices ; 
it  is  reduced  at  once  to  that  unerring  criterion,  the  sight  and 
the  touch  I 

But,  it  is  retorted,  that  will  not  be  granted ;  then  we  repeat 
another  proposal,  let  the  Priest  Conroy  come  forth  girded  in 
nil  the  panoply  of  the  Roman  court,  and  appear  as  the  chani* 
pio*^  of  the  Canadian  Jesuits ;  let  him  institute  an  action,  civil 
or  criminal,  or  both,  against  the  publishers  of  such  atrocious 
crimes,  which,  as  they  pretend,  are  falsely  alleged  against  the 
Roman  Priests.    If  Lartigue  and  his  Montreal  inferior  priests 
are  implicated  in  the  most  nefarious  felonies,  Maria  Monk  has 
published  him  as  a  virtual  accomplice.    Why  does  ho  not  put 
her  truth  to  the  test,  by  subjecting  her  to  a  criminal  process? 
Why  does  he  not  commence  a  suit  against  the  Booksellers  who 
published  her  "Awful  Disclosures T'— Ah!  if  Lartigue,  Ronin, 
Dufresne,  and  Richards,  with  their  brethren,  Ccnroy,  Phelan. 
Kelly  and  Quarter,  were  coerced  to  keep  Lent,  and  live  only 
upon  soup-maigre^  until  that  day  arrives,  they  would  not  much 
longer  portray  in  iheir  exterior,  that  they  live  upon  the  fat  of 
the  land;  but  they  would  vociferously  whine  out— "Mea  cul- 
pa! Omeagrandis  culpa!  O  mea grandissima  culpa !  Peccavi! 
Peccavi!  Peccavi!" 


'^"imi 


: 

'■■; 

1  ( 

> 

ii 

1' 

r 

i      :      1:    i 

t    ' 

i 

- 

m 

1 

iifi 

{ 

1 

* 

^._. 

li^Mto.^  > 

1 

U 

SUPPLEMENT, 


GIVING  A  D£SCRIPTtON  OF  THE   NUNNERY,   GROUNDS,    ftC 

IN  THE  FRONTISPIECE.. 


I  HAVE  several  errors  to  correct,  which  are  to  be 
found  in  my  first  edition.     1  did  not  notice  them  for 
some  time  after  its  publication  ;  for  after  it  had  once 
been  published,  I  wishe.d  to  relieve  my  mind  from 
reflecting  on  the  painful  scenes  to  vv^hich  it  relates, 
and  felt  little  inclination  to  read  it  over.     Besides,  I 
soon  began  to  be  sought  for  by  persons  of  different 
descriptions,  Avho  felt  particular  interest  in  my  dis- 
closures, and  to  some  of  whom  I  could  not  reasona- 
ably  deny  an  interview.     Accident  also,  and  in  some 
instances  my  own  curiosity,  brought  me  into  con- 
tact with  other  persons ;  so  that  I  had  to  make  past 
scenes  the  frequent  subject  of  review,  and  often-^ 
times  in  a  manner  that  kept  my  feelings  excited, 
and  denied  me  much  of  that  peace  and  tranquillity 
which  were  recommended  to  me  by  my  best  friends, 
and  most  desired  by  myself     Under  such  circum- 
stances I  did  not  look  much  into  my  book. 

There  are  some  errors  in  the  first  editions 
which  no  one  has  mentioned  to  me,  but  which  I  am 
about  to  collect.  In  describing  the  interior  of  the 
Black  Nunnery,  I  spoke  of  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass as  I  supposed  them  to  be ;  but,  on  reflecJting 
since,  I  find  that  I  never  made  any  attentive  obser- 
vation from  which  I  can  be  sure  which  way  was 


SUPPLEMENT. 


365 


GROUNDS,    ftC 


north,  south,  east,  or  west,  and  I  might,  perhaps, 
have  committed  some  error. 

I  found,  in  reading  my  book  after  its  publication, 
that  some  things  which  I  thought  I  had  expressed 
plainly,  were  rather  obscure,  and  in  several  passa- 
ges a  reader  might  receive  impressions  quite  the 
opposite  of  the  truth. 

One  of  the  most  important  errors  in  the  descrip- 
tion ti  the  apartments  of  the  Black  Nunnery,  is  in 
the  8th  Chapter,  under  number  4,  in  the  second 
story,  where  I  have  unaccountably  made  the  long 
and  narrow  passage  by  which  the  physician  some- 
times enters,  terminate  at  the  nuns'  private  sick- 
room, (No.  4,)  instead  of  the  little  sitting-room,  (No. 
5,)  where  it  actually  does.  As  I  remarked  above, 
no  one,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  ever  alluded  to  this, 
or  any  of  the  other  accidental  mistakes  I  have  found 
in  that  chapter ;  and  I  seize  this  opportunity  to  cor- 
rect them,  because  a  regard  to  truth  demands  it  of  me. 

It  has  appeared  to  me,  that  I  could  furnish  a  plan 
of  the  veiled  nuns'  department  in  the  Black  Nun- 
nery, which  would  enable  my  readers  the  better  to 
comprehend  what  I  have  wished  to  communicate 
by  an  explanation  and  description  of  the  apartments, 
passages,  staircases,  &c.  Although  this  may  be 
imperfectly  done,  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  reflect, 
that  I  have  now  laid  before  the  people  of  America 
a  delineation  and  description  of  my  late  dismal 
abode,  more  full  and  accurate,  as  well  as  more  intel- 
ligible, than  I  gave  them  before. 


^'Hi'iif      * 


i\ 


1( 


,■'  '  '  1;    ill 


?Mi:i 


If 


,'. 


i'li  i 


l^'i^ 


\' 


! 


m 


I'  ■  -.1 1 


I, 


1  ) 


;  < 


Ml 


i  I 


I 


f 


ill 


t|t's|| 


r 


'     i 


d6& 


APPENDIX. 


PLAN  OF  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  BLACK  VEIL  DEPARTMENT.* 

Wishing  to  give  as  particular  and  clear  a  view 
as  possible  of  the  rooms  I  have  described,  I  have 
recently  drawn  out  a  plan  of  the  different  apart- 
ments, which  has  been  copied  on  a  much  reduced 
scale,  under  my  directions,  and  printed  to  accompany 
the  present  volume.  I  wish  my  readers  distinctly 
to  understand,  that  in  giving  this,  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  be  accurate  in  the  dimensions.  I  can  recol- 
lect, in  most  cases,  where  and  which  way  a  door 
opens,  what  it  leads  to,  the  uses  of  the  apartments, 
cupboards,  &c.,  the  furniture  of  rooms,  and  often 
the  number  and  situation  of  windows ;  but  I  never 
measured  any  of  them,  nor  heard  their  size,  nor 
studied  nor  understood  the  plan  of  that  part  of  the 
vast  edifice  of  which  it  forms  only  a  wing. 

I  may,  it  is  possible,  have  made  some  error  in  the 
relative  positions  of  some  of  the  apartments,  so  as, 
in  some  instances,  to  render  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
my  impressions  with  the  form  of  the  building.  I 
am  uncertain,  for  example,  of  the  precise  manner  in 
which  certain  rooms  are  formed,  wheth^/  they  pro- 
ject from  the  line  of  the  wall,  as  I  arrays  fancied 
they  did,  or  not.  Some  of  the  passages,  also,  may 
perhaps  take  a  different  line  from  what  I  suppose. 
Yet,  with  respect  to  many  other  things,  I  feel  entire 
confidence  in  my  memory,  as  I  could  soon  prove  to 
any  one,  if  admitted  into  the  Convent  to  test  the  truth 
of  my  assertions.  I  will  now  proceed  to  mention 
the  additional  particulars  I  have  to  state  concerning 

♦  See  the  plan  at  the  bep:innln8  of  this  volume. 


lUPPLEMENT. 


86r 


the  apartments,  and  shall  refer  to  the  imperfect  draft 
before  my  readers.  They  may  turn  to  p  63  also, 
where  they  will  find  what  I  have  before  said,  as  I 
shall  not  repeat  it  here.  I  would,  however,  re- 
mark, that  several  apartments,  &c.,  which  I  did  not 
think  of  before,  are  now  added  here,  although,  to 
prevent  confusion,  the  numbering  is  not  changed. 

First  Story. — No.  1.  The  nuns'  Private  Chapel, 
a  small  room,  has  an  altar  railed  in.  The  cross, 
commonly  placed  erect  over  the  altar,  is  here  rep- 
resented as  lying  on  the  floor.  It  was  once  laid  in 
the  position  here  represented,  (with  the  head  to- 
wards the  door,)  on  an  occasion  which  I  shall 
refer  to,  when  I  publish  another  book,  as  my 
story  is  not  yet  all  told  There  is  a  cupboard 
with  two  doors,  opening  opposite  the  altar,  where 
were  placed  ornaments,  with  silver  candlesticks 
for  the  altar,  &c.  These  I  have  sometimes  been 
sent  to  attend  to.  In  the  passage  is  a  similar  cup- 
board. The  door  of  the  chapel  opens  inward  and 
to  the  right.  The  plan  shows,  in  a  similar  manner, 
how  many  of  the  other  doors  open.  This  room  is 
It  the  end  of  the  building  towards  Notre  Dame  street. 

No.  2.  Community-room,  with  benches  on  three 
lides  to  sit,  and  another  row  for  the  feet.  The 
windows  on  the  upper  side  are  very  closely  barred. 

In  the  adjoining  passage,  on  the  lefl,  are  the 
wa5hstand  and  screen  mentioned  before,  and  next 
a  barrel  of  water  with  a  cup,  near  the  foot  of  the 
staircase  leading  to  the  nuns'  sleeping-room.  See 
crevious  chapters.     A  stovepipe,  in  winter,  passes 


""•!'• 


\. 


I  Ml' 


368 


APPENDIX. 


through  from  the  next  room,  into  this  passag*,  ind 
through  the  ceiling  into  the  nuns'  sleeping-room 
in  the  2d  story.     See  p.  121. 

In  the  old  nuns'  sleeping-room  are  markeda  closet, 
some  of  the  shelves  or  berths  on  which  their  beds 
were  placed,  and  the  glass  case  ir  which  the  Name- 
less Nun  sometimes  appeared.  In  the  Superior's 
sleeping-room,  I  need  not  specify  tlie  position  of  any 
thing  more  particularly  than  I  have  done  in  Chap 
ter  iii.,  and  on  p.  194. 

In  the  next  room,  is  the  door  to  a  staircnse,  lead- 
ing to  the  cellar — a  passage  often  taken  by  tho 
priests.  On  page  133,  I  have  mentioned  that  Fa- 
ther Quiblier  was  seen  in  the  Superior's  room  by 
some  of  the  nuns,  on  our  way  to  the  sleeping-room, 
on  the  evening  there  alluded  to.  It  will  be  seen, 
after  observing  the  relative  situation  ©f  the  staircases 
to  the  sleeping-room  and  to  the  cellar,  that  the  Su- 
perior's room  was  a  convenient  stopping  place  be- 
tween the  two.  As  in  various  other  instances,  the 
plan  of  the  interior  of  the  building  which  is  insert- 
ed in  this  volume,  will  here  render  some  of  my  re- 
marks more  clearly  intelligible  than  they  may  have 
seemed  without  it. 

No.  3.  The  dining-room,  shows  the  customary 
position  of  the  tables,  though  not  their  proportion;?. 
There  was  sometimes  another  tabic  placed  between 
the  middle  one  and  the  wall ;  not  so,  however,  as  to 
interfere  with  the  chimney  and  cupboard  on  that 
side  of  the  room.  In  one  corner  is  another  cup- 
board, and  m  another  one  the  pantry.     The  kitchen 


aUPPLEM  ENT. 


369 


is  a  distinct  building,  with  only  a  cellar  and  one 
story.  It  is  connected  with  the  large  building 
by  nothing  except  a  small  window  strongly  grated, 
with  an.  opening  barely  large  enough  to  pass  dishes 
through.  1  was  sometimes  there  while  a  novice, 
J)ut  never  afterward.  The  cooks  employed  there 
are  commonly  poor  girls  and  women  who  can  get 
work  nowhere  else,  and  are  never  permitted  to  en- 
ter the  nunnery,  or  to  converse  with  the  nuns. 

Of  ilie  size  and  precise  number  of  the  two  or  three 
succeeding  rooms  I  a^  not  very  certain.  I  think 
I  have  drawn  them  pretty  nearly  right.  No.  4,  is 
a  room  where  sewing  is  done  in  the  week.  On  Sat- 
urday our  work  was  deposited  in  a  spare  room 
which  is  in  thu  projection.  In  one  of  the  corners, 
is  the  staircase  up  which  St.  Francis  was  taken. 
I:j  one  corner  of  a  largo  room  beyond  is  the  Ex- 
amination of  Conscience — see  page  64.  It  was 
lighted,  as  I  believe,  only  from  a  window  on  the 
other  side  of  the  partition.  Near  the  corner  next 
to  No.  6,  (which  I  may  call  the  Sunday-room,) 
is  a  trap-door,  with  a  staircase,  leading  first  to  a 
small  apartment  or  cell  under  the  floor  of  the  room 
vre  have  just  left,  and  thence  into  the  cellar.  TJiis 
was  the  way  by  which  I  often  went  down  to  get  coal. 

No.  6.  The  Sunday-room  was  furnished  chiefly 
with  chairs,  placed  round  against  the  walls.  On 
one  side,  a  door  opens  into  the  yard,  and  on  the 
other,  that  which  communicates  with  the  covered 
passage  to  the  Convent  church. 

The  adjoining  apartments  and  cupboards,  I  am 


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S70 


APPENDIX 


awarci  I  have  described  rather  loosely  heretofore. 
I  did  not  know  the  difficulty  of  placing  them  pro- 
perly until  I  came  to  draw  them.  I  am  convinced 
I  was  wrong  in  saying  that  No.  8,  the  wax-room, 
projected  from  the  main  building.  The  plan  in  the 
frontispiece  will  show  their  relative  situations  as 
nearly  as  I  can  now  give  them. 

No,  9.  The  medicine-room  must  be  at  or  near  the 
end  of  the  wing. 

Second.  Story. — No.  1.  The  nuns'  sleeping-room, 
or  dortoir.  In  the  passage  adjoining  the  sleeping- 
room,  is  a  long  closet,  opening  with  two  doors, 
which  fold  up  when  opened.  The  adjacent  closets 
I  have  mentioned  on  page  66. 

At  the  end  of  the  passage  is  a  staircase,  leading 
down  to  a  small  room,  or  rather  closet,  where  there 
is  no  light.  There  the  stairs  terminate,  and  there  is 
no  communication  with  any  thing  else.  I  used  to 
think  I  heard  voices  there  sometimes,  when  at  work 
near  the  stairs.  I  asked  Jane  Ray  what  it  was,  and 
she  replied  that  it  was  the  Superior's  hide-and-go- 
seek  hole. 

No.  2.  The  adjoining  staircase  is  that  up  which 
we  carried  St.  Francis.  No.  3  is  the  little  sitting- 
room  from  which  I  set  off  to  make  my  escape.  (My 
course  is  marked  on  the  cut.) 

Nos.  4  and  5,  see  p.  67.  The  long  passage  ad- 
ioining  is  that  described  on  page  198.  The  Doc- 
tor sometimes  came  through  it.  That  was  the  way, 
also,  by  which  we  carried  St.  Francis  to  the  room 
in  which  she  was  smothered.     It  was  during  th« 


BUFPLEHENT. 


871 


be  at  or  near  the 


time  of  silence,  when  none  of  us  was  allowed  to 
speak.  The  passage  is  dark.  She  struggled  once 
80  that  the  nuns  thought  she  intended  to  escape.  I 
believe  it  was  because  she  got  a  little  hurt  by  hitting 
against  a  projection  marked  in  the  passage. 

When- 1  escaped,  I  passed  through  4  and  5  into 
the  square  passage.  The  Superior  was  in  No.  10, 
and  I,  turning  to  the  left,  unfastened  the  door  leading 
to  the  steps,  and  so  passed  out. 

By  referring  to  page  69  sufficient  will  be  found 
concerning  Nos.  U,  12  and  13.  Next  to  that  is  the 
"  Holy  Retreat,"  and  the  last  apartment  is  the  priests* 
sitting-room,  where  many  scenes  of  intoxication  and 
gambling  have  occurred.  There  is  a  door  in  the 
passage,  opening  to  some  place  which  I  have  never 
seen.  It  was  always  locked,  and  had  chairs  stand- 
ing against  it.  Some  windows  I  have  omitted. 
(%  The  Garret  is  not  represented  in  the  plan.  The 
stairs  to  it  lead  from  the  comer  of  the  passage  be- 
tween  Nos.  5  and  10.  There  is  a  great  variety  of 
old  rubbish  stowed  away  in  the  garret.  We  used  to 
play  there  sometimes.  There  is  a  small  room  par- 
titioned off  near  the  middle,  but  in  other  respects  it  is 
all  open.  I  found  an  old  gag  there;  one  which  Jane 
Ray,  with  her  characteristic  readiness,  declared  had 
once  been  in  her  mouth. 

The  Cellar  is  drawn  after  several  hasty  plans 
made  by  me,  at  different  periods,  compared  with 
each  other,  and  with  verbal  descriptions  I  have  fur- 
nished. My  former  volume  seems  to  say  that  there 
are  four,  instead  of  three  double  ranges  of  cells. 


873 


APPENDIX. 


1  i  i 


]V. 


M  ■'• 


That  was  owing  to  an  oversight.  There  are  two 
staircases  leading  into  the  cellar,  which  are  marked 
in  the  first  story.  In  the  cellar,  near  the  former,  is 
a  great,  gloomy,  dismal  iron  door,  studded  with  iron, 
and  fastened  with  a  great  lock.  I  never  saw  it  open, 
but  often  heard  strange  noises  within.  Under  the 
steps  were  stored  raisins,  and  many  delicacies  for 
the  priests. 

In  the  second  cell  on  the  right  was  imprisoned 
the  nun  whom  I  occasionally  spoke  with ;  and  in 
the  adjoining  one  beyond  was  her  companion.  The 
last  cell  in  the  second  range  on  the  left  hand,  is  that 
in  which  I  was  once  imprisoned.  (See  p.  167.)  Be- 
tween the  two  last  ranges  of  cells  is  only  the  ground* 
floor.  Just  beyond  is  the  hole  of  private  inter- 
ment. This  must  have  been  originally  very  near 
the  extremity  of  the  cellar;  for  a  considerable  addi* 
tion  was  built  to  the  Black  Nuns'  department  a  few 
years  since,  when  the  chapel  and  adjoining  commu- 
nity-room were  added  to  the  first  story,  while  the 
nuns'  sleeping-room  was  much  enlarged,  and  the  se- 
cret rooms  beyond  it  were  of  course  constructed  at 
that  time.  The  extension  of  the  cellar  left  the  hole 
of  interment  much  in  the  way. 

I  have  never  described  the  communication  be- 
tween the  great  Nunnery  Church  and  the  Black 
Nuns'  department.  Behind  the  altar  is  the  passage 
into  the  sacristie.  From  that  room  a  passage  leads 
to  the  veiled  nims'  department.  Strangers  are  some- 
times taken  through  a  part  of  that  passage,  to  a  small 
room  to  which  it  opens  on  the  left  hand,  when  they 


SUPPLEMENT. 


373^ 


wish  to  seethe  Superior,  but  they  are  never  allowed 
to  proceed  any  farther.  This  passage  leads  to  the 
Sunday-room  on  the  1st  floor.  It  is  imperfectly 
lighted,  chiefly,  I  think,  through  the  small  room  just 
mentioned.  This  passage  extends  some  distance  be- 
yond the  door  of  the  community-room  with  which 
it  communicates. 

It  has  been  reported,  that  since  I  left  the  Convent, 
workmen  have  been  employed  in  making  consider* 
able  changes  within  it.  If  all  these  things  are 
to  be  changed  for  the  purpose  of  contradicting  me, 
I  can  assure  the  Superior  and  Priests  they  will  have 
a  great  deal  to  do. 

The  walls  are  generally  wainscoted,  that  is,  lined 
with  wood.  In  the  room  w^here  St.  Francis  waa 
murdered,  there  are  four  iron  staples  driven  into  the 
ceiling,  with  rings.  In  another,  there  are  seven  or 
eight  similar  ones.  Most  of  the  doors  have  no  sills. 
Those  of  the  communi'y-rooms,  generally,  have 
Canadiarf  latches.  The  window-sashes  in  several 
rooms  swing  in. 

The  floors]  are  generally  made  of  boards,  or 
plank,  (six  or  eight  inches  wide,  I  think,)  and  fast- 
ened with  nails.  I  remember,  at  least,  that  as  the 
Bishop  was  one  day  entering  a  community-room,  he 
said — "  There,  that  is  the  third  time  I  have  hit  my 
foot  against  that  nail !" 

The  front  view,  according  to  my  recollection,  is. 
correct,  so  far  as  it  extends.  The  wall  is  of  such 
a  height,  as  to  conceal  a  great  part  of  the  front 
from  a  passenger  in  St.  Paul's  street ;  but  my  first 


874 


APPENDIX. 


^i^ 


i  n  w 


IP':: 


i-fJ!  t 


'in  t 


if  If  in. 


J.^   ^ 


.*■   ■! 


sight  of  the  drawing  reminded  me  of  many  circum- 
stances which  I  might  refer  to  if  I  had  time  and  space. 

The  general  plan  of  the  grounds  and  buildings 
is,  in  some  respects,  defective  and  erroneous ;  and  I 
can  easily  explain  to  my  readers  why  it  is  so.  It 
•was  drawn  by  a  gentleman  in  Montreal,  who  is 
well  qualified  for  the  task,  but  was  not  able  to  get 
access  to  some  of  the  most  important  points.  He 
made  several  attempts,  during  my  visit  to  that  city 
in  August  last,  to  obtain  a  correct  drawing  of  the 
whole,  but  was  unable.  He  one  day  entered  the 
gate,  and  got  some  distance  into  the  yard,  when  he 
began  to  make  his  observations;  but,  being  ob- 
served, was  assailed  by  several  old  nuns,  who  pe- 
remptorily insisted  on  his  leaving  the  place  instant- 
ly. Some  of  them  even  laid  hands  upon  him,  to 
force  him  out ;  but  not  being  disposed  to  be  thus  de- 
feated of  his  object,  he  lingered  until  they  called 
the  yard-man  to  their  assistance,  who,  without  cere- 
mony, and  with  some  violence,  thrust  him  into  tho 
street.  He  sought  every  opportunity  to  ascertain 
the  facts  necessary  to  make  his  drawing  correct,  but 
was  obliged,  at  last,  to  set  down  several  things  by 
conjecture.  I  saw  that  he  had  committed  several 
errors  at  my  first  view  of  his  plan,  and  proposed  to 
have  proper  corrections  made ;  but,  on  the  whole, 
concluded  to  have  it  copied  on  a  reduced  scale,  without 
alteration,  as  I  was  not  provided  with  measurements. 

I  will,  therefore,  briefly  state,  that  the  lefl-hand 
portion  of  the  building  is  chiefly  devoted  to  the  pub* 
lie  hospitals ;  the  middle,  and  right-hand,  to  the  pub* 


SUPPLEMENT. 


876 


roneous :  and  I 


lie  rooms  and  Novices'  Department;  and  the  mid- 
die  wing  to  the  Veiled  or  Black  Nuns.  Not  only 
is  the  Veiled  Department  sheltered  from  view  on 
the  front  and  on  the  right  and  left,  hut  I  have  never 
seen  it  from  any  place  outside  of  the  walls  from 
any  direction ;  and  I  have  heard  it  remarked,  that  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  get  a  view  of  it  from  any 
point  whatever.  I  often  saw  it  from  the  garden  and 
yard  while  a  novice,  as  we  had  access  there,  al- 
though it  war  contrary  to  our  vows  for  any  of  us, 
except  the  ok  nuns,  to  leave  the  door  after  taking 
the  veil. 

The  breadth  of  the  Veiled  Department,  I  am  con- 
fident, is  too  great,  and  the  length  too  small.  The 
position  of  it  is  also  wrong,  as  it  really  stands  to  the 
right  hand  of  the  rear  of  the  Convent  Church.  The 
only  connexion  that  I  know  of  with  the  rest  of  the 
building,  is  a  narrow  and  covered  passage  leading 
from  the  sacristie,  (a  room  in  the  rear  of  the  church,) 
some  distance  to  the  right,  then  turning  at  right  an- 
gles and  running  close  to  the  wall  of  the  Veiled 
Department  to  the  Sunday-room,  as  shown  in  the 
plan  of  the  interior,  on  the  first  story.  The  kitchen 
is  also  omitted. 


376 


APPENDIX. 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 


;  1 1 


:*  < 


lit. 


«!    : 


fp 


I'sU 


I  HAVE  now  concluded  all  that  I  deem  it  neces< 
sary  at  present  to  say.  The  public,  in  this  volume, 
have  in  their  hands,  as  it  appears  to  me,  everything 
necessary  to  enable  them  to  forma  decisive  opinion 
concerning  the  degree  of  confidence  which  my 
statements  deserve.  They  have  before  them  every 
thing  like  testimony  which  has  been  produced 
against  me,  together  with  the  means  of  satisfying 
themselves  on  various  points  on  which  curiosity  has 
heretofore  been  excited. 

It  is  my  intention,  at  some  future  time,  to  lay  be- 
fore the  public  certain  additional  statements  already 
communicated  to  judicious  individuals,  and,  indeed^ 
committed  to  paper. 

For  the  present,  I  will  only  remind  my  readers 
of  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  Preface  of  this 
volume,  and  assure  them  that  I  desire  nothing  so 
much  as  to  see  my  sad  and  painful  story  producing 
the  efifects  for  which  it  has  been  brought  before  the 
world— viz.  the  delivery  of  my  late  fellow  prison- 
ers in  the  Black  Nunnery,  and  the  safety  of  all 
others  who  may  be  exposed  to  the  evils  I  have  suf^ 
fered. 


Errata.    Pages  273  and  907,  for  cariole,  read  carriage. 


,ii 


X. 


LEMARKS. 


that  I  deem  it  neces- 
>ublic,  in  this  volume, 
ars  to  me,  everything 
rm  a  decisive  opinion 
)nfidence  which  my 
ire  before  them  every 
has  been  produced 
means  of  satisfying 
a  which  curiosity  has 

uture  time,  to  lay  be- 
al  statements  already 
lividuals,  and,  indeed^ 


f  remind  my  readers 
a  the  Preface  of  this 
I  desire  nothing  so 
inful  story  producing 
in  brought  before  the 
y  late  fellow  prison- 
nd  the  safety  of  all 
the  evils  I  have  suf^ 


riole,  read  carriage. 


t 


